Christmas in the Lone Star State
by CJS-DEPPendent
Summary: Grateful to still have Nick alive, Judge and Mrs. Stokes invite his son's friends to spend Christmas and New Year's with them. With all of Nick's family present, a lot of fun ensues. WIP. GSR and Yo!Bling.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ This story just sort of popped into my head and had to be written. If you're wondering, I have every intention to finish 'Came with the Wind', but I'm not sure when I'll be posting again._

_**A/N2:**__ This story might, at some points, be slightly OOC. I really appreciate Reviews and __constructive criticism_ If you're just reviewing to flame, don't bother.

* * *

_**Christmas in the Loan Star State**_

"Hey guys?" came Nick's voice as he saw Grissom and Brass walking past the break room where he, Catherine, Warrick, Sara and Greg were waiting.

"Yea?" asked Brass turning on his heel while Grissom stared at the notes in his hand.

"Um, could I talk to you all for a minute?"

After looking quizzically at Grissom who simply shrugged his shoulders, the two men followed the Texan.

* * *

"You gonna tell us what's going on now, Nick?" asked Warrick who was sitting on the couch.

"Ok, well, last night I got a call from my folks. They wanted to invite you all over for Christmas and new year's. They say it's to show their thanks for finding me and saving me. I told them y'all probably have families to be with and all, but they still wanted to know"

After a few seconds of thinking, Greg was the first to speak "I'll be there"

"Count me in too" said Warrick who was already desperate to get away from the wife

"Same here" said Sara

"Christmas meal home-made?" asked Brass

"yea…" said Nick

"Wouldn't miss it"

After sharing a laugh with the team, Nick looked towards Grissom who nodded and then to Catherine.

"How 'bout you Cath?"

"Um, I have to be with Lindsey"

"Well, I understand if you can't, but all my family will be there including all of my nieces and nephews, so you could bring her along"

Catherine thought about it and merely replied "I'll ask her what she thinks"

"Ok well, I've checked and we all have enough vacation days to go, Judge Stokes has offered to put in a word with Ecklie if he doesn't want to let us go and, if everything runs as smoothly as I think it will, we'll arrive next Saturday the 2nd at noon"

"22nd? That leaves us two days to Christmas eve, what are we…" said Greg

"Yea, uh, I took my parents invitation as a chance for y'all to get to know the loan star state. But hey, if you prefer to go later, that can also be arranged"

"No. It's ok." said Warrick quickly, thoroughly looking forwards to leaving.

"Ok then, you're tickets should be arriving in the next few days"

With that over, each team member went their way.

* * *

Over the next few days, they all began getting more and more excited about the trip. Nick refused to tell them what he had planned for each day but promised it would be fun all around.

On Friday night, Nick called everyone to confirm and was happy to find that even Catherine would be coming; her mother was going to spend Christmas with her new 'boy' friend and so she was free to go and take Lindsey with her.

"Where're the girls?" asked Greg as he, the other three CSI's and Brass stood waiting for Catherine and Sara.

"Well, Cath said she'd stop by Sara's to pick her up so, they really shouldn't be taking this long" said Nick.

Just as he finished the sentence, they heard the blond CSI's voice and turned to see her, Sara and Lindsey approaching.

"What took you?" asked Warrick taking a bag from Catherine causing her to look at him slightly suspiciously.

"My fault" said Catherine "I forgot to fill up on gas last night so I had to do it this morning or we wouldn't have made it here"

"Well, now that you have, let's get checked in so we can find a McDonald's. I'm starving" said Greg picking up his suitcase and receiving an agreeing nod from the teenager.

* * *

"Flight 477297 to Dallas, Texas is now boarding" came a voice over the PA.

"That's us" said Nick as they got up from their table and picked up their bags.

After passing through security where Greg and Warrick had to be searched because their belts which they claimed to be 'in' caused the metal detector to go off, the group finally settled in their seats on the plane ready for the two hour flight.

Though seats were assigned on each ticket, because they were all together, they were able to switch round and sit with whom they wanted.

In row 12 sat Grissom, Sara and Nick, behind them, on row 13 sat Brass, Warrick and Catherine and across the isle from them sat Lindsay, Greg and an overweight, sweaty businessman whom the two couldn't help but laugh at.

Though the flight wasn't very long, it was an excellent chance to begin relaxing. In their isle, Grissom and Sara were going through a forensics magazine Grissom had been reading while Nick was turned around in his seat to play cards with Catherine, Warrick and Brass. In the row across from them, Greg and Lindsey were having fun reading some of her gossip magazines and listening to his iPod which, according to him, would be an unbeatable learning experience for her.

**TBC**

**Thank you for reading; next chapter should be up shortly. Please tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ These first few chapters are in a way more of an introduction to the story to get the characters where I want them. Please bare with me, there's partying, romance, and hopefully some comedy ahead._

_Reviews are more than welcome…_

* * *

"Ah" sighed Nick once they stepped outside the airport "home sweet home"

"Nick, how are we getting to your place?" asked Lindsey

"Taxi, kiddo" said Nick smiling at the young girl while sticking his hand out to stop a couple of taxis that were driving by.

* * *

"There they are" said Eleanor Stokes as she spotted the two taxis driving into the ranch

"Ma!" greeted Nick with open arms when he stepped out of the car where Grissom had volunteered to pay.

"Hey!" said Judge Stokes as he stepped outside to greet his son whom he hadn't seen since two weeks after his abduction "how're you holding up?"

"I'm fine, sir" then, turning back to his friends he began to introduce them "Well, this is Warrick Brown, Sara Sidle, Greg Sanders, Catherine Willows"

"We've met" said Judge Stokes greeting each in turn and moving to kiss Catherine on the cheek "It's nice to see you again, and under better conditions"

"Thank you, sir" replied the blond

"Bill, please" after receiving a smile from her, he turned to Lindsey "and who are you?"

"Lindsey Willows" said the girl looking at the extremely tall man

"That's Cath's daughter"

"Ah" said Eleanor smiling "the one the boys can't wait to meet"

"Mom…" said Nick smiling as Lindsey blushed and looked at the floor

"We've met too" said the Judge still smiling as he shook Jim's hand and moved to Gil to whom he said "Gil Grissom needs no introduction"

"Thank you" said the supervisor shaking the man's hand

Approaching him, Eleanor smiled and said "I'm so glad you came, we are forever in your debt"

Looking at her boss, Sara was sure that, were it not for the beard, he'd be blushing.

"Sara…Sara!" called Nick as the distracted CSI continued to look at the spot where Grissom had been without noticing he was gone.

"Uh? Yea?"

Laughing slightly, Nick picked up her suitcase and said "Come on, let's go". As they moved inside, he couldn't help thinking _damn; she's got it hard for him_ while a smile appeared on his lips.

* * *

It didn't take long for the CSI's to realise that when Nick talked about growing up in a Ranch, it really was a _Ranch_. The property where the large house was settled seemed endless; there was a barn, where Nick told them they would find the horses, a large swimming pool in the back and even a small stream running trough the woods at the back.

The house itself was also amazing. The team had thought that with all of Nick's family coming plus them, they'd be crowded, but now it was obvious they were wrong.

According to Judge and Mrs. Stokes, there were rooms enough for two people each, and the kids would be camping out in the family room.

"So, we asked Nicky what the best arrangements would be and here's what he said, any problems, take 'em up with him" said Eleanor whom everybody was beginning to really warm up to "So, Nicky will be in his room with Greg and Warrick" she said nodding and smiling at Warrick whom she knew was her son's best friend and had been there for him during and after his abduction. "Ms. Willows and Miss. Sidle, you're room is two up from Nick's, Lindsey you can sleep there too for now and once the kids arrive you can camp out with them if you like. And finally in the room next to them, Captain Brass and Dr. Grissom. Is everyone ok with that?"

When everyone nodded and began to move upstairs, Grissom turned to his CSI's parents and said "thank you both for this, and please, call me Gil, the doctor is only for professional situations"

"Alright, Gil. You're welcome"

That said, Grissom followed the rest of the team up to their rooms and they began to settle in.

* * *

Once they were all settled in, the team assembled down in the large kitchen as per Nick's request.

"Ok, well we made it!" he said receiving a cheer from Greg "So, over the next two days my sisters and brother will be arriving. By the 24th, there'll be 32 people here. There'll be plenty of things to do for fun but for us the fun starts now"

They all cheered.

"Well, apart from relaxing which we all need, today I'll be showing y'all the horses and making sure you can ride properly, tomorrow we're taking the day to ride around and we can take lunch with us and eat wherever we want. On the 24th, you can all spend the day however you want, but be back by 5 because Christmas dinner starts at 7. The 25th I was thinking we could spend here, there's a great lunch in it for y'all and usually we just laze around and play games. And let me apologise already for my meticulous planning, see organization skills were drilled into me my whole life…" he added smiling at his mother making everyone laugh lightly.

"Ok, well since Nicky has that all sorted out, my job is a whole lot simpler" said Eleanor standing up "so, I hope you all enjoy your day today, and if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask"

After they all thanked her, the team began talking excitedly amongst themselves.

"So, how many of you guys _know_ how to ride a horse?" asked Nick with a grin on his face.

When no one but Greg rose their hands, he sighed and, still smiling led them out to the barn.

* * *

"Thirteen…" said Greg staring in disbelieve "you have thirteen horses! I had _one_ and my parents kept complaining how much it cost to have him, to keep a stable for him, feed him, train him…"

"Yea well, we own the stable so we don't have to pay for that, and besides, Terry, our groundskeeper takes care of the rest. So…introductions" he said turning to the horses and pointing at each in turn.

"Whisper, June, Hopper, Sandy, Cherokee, Candy, Angel Eyes, Lightning bolt, May, Trigger, Black, White and Thunderstorm"

"Ok, who chose those names?" asked Lindsey in a slight mock as she patted the first horse

"Well, mostly me and my brother and sisters, two are my parents', but a couple are the kids. See, when a Stokes kid turns 13, he or she gets their first horse, so three of my nieces and nephews had their own here too"

When everybody nodded in understanding, Nick began to tell them which horse they should each ride so he could teach them something before the next day.

"So, uh, let's seen, Greg you said you've ridden so you take Thunderstorm, he's my brother's" he said pointing to the perfectly black stallion in the end stall "then, uh, Warrick I think you can handle Sandy and I'm sure Emily won't mind you using him, uh, Brass you take Cherokee she's easy enough to handle, Beth has her well trained. Um… Sara take June, Cath take May. Lindsey you can have Angel Eyes and Griss take Black, he's my father's and responds well to authority. I'll take Trigger"

Once everyone, with the help of Nick and Terry, had the horses ready, they led them out to the paddock and began following the groundskeeper's orders.

After a couple of near falls and frustrated sighs, they were all relatively comfortable on the horse they'd been assigned. Grissom found the Black horse he'd been given easy enough to handle, Catherine and Sara were thoroughly enjoying the two brown horses which belonged to Nick's twin sisters Katie and Debra, Jim took a while to get Cherokee to obey him but when she finally did, they got along fine, Lindsey fell in love with Angel Eyes the moment she saw her and the two were getting along perfectly. Finally, Greg was having the time of his life galloping up and down the rink on what he claimed to be the fastest horse on earth and Nick was getting reacquainted with his 9 year old horse Trigger.

* * *

**TBC**

**Thank you for reading; I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, it should be up within the next couple of days. Please review and tell me what you think. Also, if you have any suggestions let me know. **

**CJS-DEPPendant**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Here it is, Chapter 3 already!_

_**A/N2:**__ One more thing before you get onto the story. I forgot to say at the beginning of the fic that while the summary says it'll be GSR and Yo!Bling, there will also be a few more romances involved, I'm just not sure how long it'll be until I can fit them in._

_Please review, it really is what keeps me going…_

* * *

"That was great!" said Sara as she took a seat in the ample living room where everyone was resting after their 'lesson'.

"Speak for yourself" said Warrick whom everyone noticed was walking slightly weirdly.

Laughing at his friend, Nick said "I told you not to wear jeans!"

"Yea well, next time, insist on it!" said Warrick adjusting his trousers as he sat on the couch and everyone laughed.

"Nicky!" came a voice from the doorway making everyone turn

"Beth!" he exclaimed jumping from his seat and running to the woman in the door "how are you?!" he asked greeting his eldest sister.

Elizabeth, or Beth as she preferred, was the first born Stokes child, she was 44 years old and the mother of three boys and a girl.

"Where's Blake?" asked the CSI looking for his Blake Evens, his sister's husband of 16 years.

"He's coming, the boys ran off to the barn and he had to go get them" explained Beth now looking at the other people in the room as a girl walked up to her.

"Ah, there's my girl!" said Nick greeting his 13 year old niece Megan

"Uncle Nick!" she said jumping into his arms.

From behind the scene, the CSI's watched this newly found side of Nick and couldn't help smiling at how carefree he looked now that he was back home.

"Ah, these must be your colleagues. Mom told us they'd be coming" said Beth now walking towards the group.

"Ah, yes" said Nick following her with Megan right behind him "these are Warrick, Catherine, Greg, Sara, Grissom, Jim and Cath's daughter Lindsey" he introduced them motioning with his hand to each in turn.

"Nice to meet you all" said Beth shaking each of their hands "Well, Lindsey" she said when she reached the teen "how old are you?"

"13" she replied

"Ah, same age as Megan, I'm sure you'll get along great"

"Nicholas!" came a man's voice from the door

"Blake!" greeted Nick going up to the man who was surrounded by three boys "I see you caught our three run-away-s"

"Ah, yes, they put up a good run but I got 'em" he said smiling down at the boys "go say hello"

Obediently, the three walked to where their mother was and greeted each CSI in turn while Beth introduced them "these are my three boys, Sean, Eric and Tom" as their names were called, each boy smiled. First, ten year old Sean and next the 9 year old twins Eric and Tom.

Once all introductions were made and the four kids had ran around the house looking for their grandparents, the grown ups settled in the living room with some snacks while the five kids moved to the family room where Lindsey was already making friends.

* * *

After getting showered and dressed, the CSI's, re-assembled in the living room with the present members of the Stokes family.

To no-one's surprise, Lindsey and Megan had hit it off really well and were huddled at the other end of the room chatting while Sean, Eric and Tom played in the family room.

"So, we ready for dinner?" asked Eleanor when she heard the oven timer go off.

After a series of cheers, everyone made their way to the dining room. Big as it was, everyone knew it would be the one place in the house where it would be impossible to fit everyone to eat. Even when it was just the stokes family plus spouses and dates, Nick told them, they couldn't fit. At the moment, it was possible to have all the adults sat down, while the kids ate in the kitchen, but it was agreed that as soon as more people arrived, they'd be eating in the living room.

"Not the neatest way to go about it" said Eleanor "but it'll have to do"

* * *

"So, what's your favourite show?" Megan asked Lindsey as they ate and the boys talked about softball and football.

"Um…Right now I really like Grey's Anatomy, but I was into Gilmore Girls for a long time there" the teen replied "me and my mom used to watch it together"

"Seriously?!" asked Megan "I did the same thing, 'coz you know, at home it's just me and my mom with four boys, heck even out dog is a boy, so we stick together"

Laughing, the conversation continued while the boys, unbeknownst to them rolled their eyes and made faces.

* * *

"Well, are any of you going to tell us anything from the job?" asked Blake "Nick never does"

The gang exchanged looks before Nick spoke "believe me, you don't want to know. Especially not at the dinner table"

Sighing Blake, who was a 46 year old Doctor went back to his food as the conversation continued.

"So, do any of you have kids, other than Catherine, I mean" asked Beth

"Uh, I have a daughter" said Brass "she's 20"

"Oh, really? What's her name?"

"Ellie… though, I haven't seen her in a while, we don't really get along" he said poking a pea with his fork

"Oh, that's too bad" said Eleanor as Bill nodded.

* * *

"Ok, ok" said Lindsey as she and Megan calmed down from a fit of laughter "favourite actors and actresses?"

Megan thought for a moment as she too calmed down "Um, Patrick Dempsey, Kate Walsh, Lauren Graham, Scott Patterson, oh and of course Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp!"

"Really? I _love_ Johnny Depp! Pirates of the Caribbean? It was so cool, I've seen it so many times!"

"So have I, my brothers all love it and so whenever they watch it, I join them! But, come on, who else?"

"Well, I don't really like Orlando Bloom, everyone is crazy about him, but I just don't see it…um…I real like Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally, you know, from Will and Grace?"

"That show about the for friends where two are gay?" asked Megan

"Yea, that's the one"

"Yea, I love it. When I get to see it that is. I'm not allowed to see it if the boys are in the room and they're always there!"

Looking at her brothers, Megan caught Sean making a face and went to hit him on the arm when he and the other two stood from the table and ran out laughing.

* * *

"Boys!" where' you going?" asked Beth as she saw her sons running away

"Family room!" called Eric and he ran after his brothers.

Sighing, Beth got back into the conversation the group was having.

* * *

About an hour later, everyone began to get tired from all the travelling and one by one they headed to their rooms. Lindsey, after getting permission from her mom, migrated to the family room to be with her friends, Nick, Warrick and Greg went into Nick's room that had two beds and one that could be pulled out from under one. Sara, Catherine, Grissom and Brass walked a little further down the hall to the two rooms they'd been assigned. After they said their goodnights, the girls went into a room and the guys did the same.

Trying to fall asleep with Brass snoring next to him and Nick and Greg's snoring coming from down the hall, Grissom couldn't help but think that in the room next door, separated by nothing but a wall was Sara.

**TBC**

* * *

**Thank you for reading; I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, it should be up within the next couple of days. Please review and tell me what you think. Also, if you have any suggestions let me know. **

**CJS-DEPPendant**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine …

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Here's chapter 4, I hope this is soon enough for you guys, and thank you so much to those who reviewed._

_Please, if your reading this and liking it, tell me what you think. I really like to know what you guys are thinking of my stories._

_Oh, and please remember than where I live it is now past midnight and I don't have a beta, so any mistakes are mine and mine alone. But blame them on lack of sleep..._

* * *

The next morning, Greg was the first member of the CSI team to wake up. Forgetting he wasn't alone, he sprung for the light to find his way through the maze of beds cramped into the small room.

The sudden change made both Nick and Warrick wince and burry their heads in their pillows while letting out a few choice swear words.

"Uh, sorry guys" said Greg turning off the light and exiting the room. Once he was in the naturally lit corridor, he was able to check what time it was on the wall clock: 9:06 am.

Groaning at the fact that his body had woken so early, he trudged his way to the bathroom.

* * *

The sudden sound of a flush in a room somewhere around her made Sara wake up.

Groaning, she sat up and looked around getting her bearings. There was only a little light seeping into the room through the window over Catherine's bed and other than the annoying flush, she had to concentrate very hard to hear anything. When she did though, she could hear Catherine's slow breathing, thankfully she wasn't a snorer, and she could hear some faint snoring coming from the corridor, probably from the two rooms that housed CSI men.

So as not to wake Catherine, Sara didn't turn on the light and so couldn't get dressed, choosing instead to just walk out in her pyjamas.

* * *

"Greg!" she said slightly surprised. Sure, she'd heard a flush, but she hadn't registered that that meant there was someone else up, more specifically and since the only other woman in that corridor was in her room, that there was a man up to see her in her pyjamas.

"Hm? G'morning Sara" he said rubbing his right eye completely ignoring the fact that he was in his boxers. Not just his boxers, but the yellow boxers with surfing lions on that his mother had sent him for his birthday.

"Uh, Greg…" she said wondering if it was possible that the guy wasn't picking up on the problem facing them.

Suddenly Greg's face changed.

_Ah!_ She thought _he's got it_.

"Uh…I…Uh…I'm gonna…" and he rushed back into his room

Laughing now that she was alone, Sara went into the bathroom.

* * *

The muffled sound of voices outside was what slowly drifted Grissom back into reality. But it was the loud sound of Brass snoring that effectively made him sit up in bed and, after a few moments of confusion, get up and walk out of the room.

"Sara…" he said. Much like she had minutes earlier, he hadn't registered that the sound of voices meant that someone was up; and he had definitely not considered that whoever that someone was would be seeing him in his pyjamas.

Now fully awake thanks to a few splashes of cold water, Sara, who was on her way to get some clothes so that she could take a shower and not have to walk in the corridor risking someone seeing her again, couldn't help smiling at Grissom's embarrassment.

"Uh…I…" he said trying to talk but finding no words. Because if anything was worse than having someone see him just after he woke up, it was having Sara Sidle, looking incredibly good in baggy trousers and a t-shirt that he hoped didn't belong to a guy she'd been with, see him.

Trying not to smile at his obvious embarrassment, Sara pointed to the bathroom and said "bathroom?"

When he practically ran into the small room, she had to fight very hard not to burst out laughing. Honestly, she didn't see why he was so freaked; after all she thought, he looked not only adorable, but strangely sexy in his baggy, thin pants and t-shirt. But then again, Sara had to admit that every little piece of evidence she found that showed that Gil Grissom was in fact human like the rest of them made her happy.

* * *

After the few awkward meetings in the corridor, the CSI's finally managed to get up and dressed and by 11 they were all set for their day out.

After Greg, Sara and Grissom, Catherine woke from the noise of Sara looking for something to wear, Nick and Warrick woke from the noise of Greg's overly loud iPod seeping out from his ear-phones even though they were in his ears and Brass woke from hearing Grissom grumbling about something that he was just too tired to comprehend.

* * *

"Morning y'all" greeted Nick as one by one his friends walked into the kitchen.

"Morning" they each replied back as they took a seat around the large wooden table inside of the huge kitchen.

Once the three embarrassed people got over what had happened and managed to make eye contact, conversation quickly ensued and by the time the Judge and his wife walked in, they were all chatting happily.

"Well, I hope you all had a good night. God knows with your work you need one every now and then" said Eleanor reaching for a bottle of water from a cupboard.

"Morning" greeted the Judge before patting his son on the back and saying "Emily and Debra are here"

"Great" he said.

Looking around, Nick made sure everyone had finished eating before suggesting they move to the living room where his sisters were catching up with each other.

* * *

"Hey, hey!" he greeted walking into the room arms open.

"Nicky!" Debra and Emily shouted in unison

After hugs and introductions, Nick moved on to greet Debra's husband Chris and Emily's Michael "so, where're the kids?" he asked looking around for Emily's three kids.

"Play room…" she said sighing as she heard the noise coming from down there.

"Hey Kids!" called Nick and within seconds the noise ceased and eight kids walked into the living room "Good Morning" he said and received a series of 'morning' and 'hey' from the group.

"Kids, come on, come greet Uncle Nick's friends" said Emily and a boy and two girls stepped forward.

"Hello" said the eldest girl "I'm Karen"

Smiling at the nine year old, the CSI's said hello back. When the other two made no move to introduce themselves, their father sighed and did the honours "this is our son James, he's 14 and believe it or not, he does talk and this is our little princess Rose"

Smiling, Catherine crouched next to the little girl and asked her "how old are you, Rose?"

Shyly looking up at the stranger, the little girl held up four fingers and when Catherine smiled, proceeded to hide her face in her dad's leg.

Laughing lightly, the CSI's greeted the two kids, each guy shaking James' hand and each girl kissing him on the cheek.

Once the formalities were over, the kids ran back into the family room to continue what ever they were doing, and the adults smiling, all sat down to chat tang get to know each other.

It took a very short time to get information out of Emily who apparently loved to talk. In the short space of an hour, they learnt that she and Michael had been married for 15 years. Emily was the second oldest Stokes sister and had named her kids after her paternal grandfather and her daughters after hers and her husband's maternal grandmothers.

Debra, however, was difficult to get information out of. She sat very close to her husband, always clasping hands. It wasn't that she didn't talk, she did, she had plenty of input to put in on the stories Emily was telling, however when it came to her personal life, she was much more tight lipped than either of her sisters. Beth and her husband merely sat there in the living room every now and then saying something but letting the team get to know the new comers.

When it got to 12 o'clock, Nick told his sisters that they had to go, and the team bid the three women and their husband's goodbye.

**TBC**

* * *

_Thanks for reading. If you like this story, please tell me, it really will make me happy… and if that is enough of an incentive, it will help me post faster…_

CJS-DEPPendant


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Here's chapter 5! I hope you like this, I thought it was just something really fun and different for the CSI's to do together._

_Please tell me what you think and if you have any suggestions of what the team should do, please tell me._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

"Hey, you're sisters are really nice" said Greg

"You sound surprised…" said Nick looking up at his buddy.

"Naw, it's just that, I dunno, I expected them to be different…"

Choosing to ignore wherever the young CSI was going, Nick told his friends where the supplies were and they all got busy making sandwiches to take on their trip.

By 12:30, they were all on their way to the barn with backpacks full of food and water.

* * *

"So, same horses?" asked Nick when they reached the barn and each CSI drifted off towards the horse they'd ridden the day before.

After a series of nods, Nick smiled and moved towards Trigger to get him ready.

* * *

Like the day before, the CSI's met in the paddock each already on their horse, just walking around to get re-acquainted with them.

"You guys ready?" asked Nick riding over to them.

When everyone nodded, they followed Nick out of the paddock and off to wherever he was taking them.

Anyone who knew the CSI's and what they were like in Vegas wouldn't have recognized the seven people on horses.

Catherine was surprisingly less bitchy, Warrick no longer had a shadow cast over his green eyes, Nick was smiling and laughing freely, Greg was, well, Greg was even wackier than ever, Sara was actually laughing. Not just throwing her 'Sara smile' followed by pursed lips around but actually, genuinely laughing. And Grissom, though he wasn't much different, everyone could tell there was something different with the boss, though like most things with the man, they couldn't put their fingers on it.

For an hour and a bit, the group rode along the country surrounding the Ranch until Greg started complaining that he was hungry and reluctantly, they all agreed that it would be best to stop and then than wait until they were all starved.

"Hey, Lindsey!" called Megan walking into the living room.

"Yea?"

"The guys are watching Pirates of the Caribbean, you wanna come watch?"

"Seriously? Sure!" she said jumping up from where she was on the floor playing with Karen and Rose and followed her friend.

* * *

"This is really great, Nick" said Sara sitting down on the picnic blanket Nick had remembered to take.

"Thanks, I used to do it all the time with my sisters, until they got bored of babysitting me, that is"

Everyone laughed and continued eating away at their sandwiches.

Suddenly, and without explanation, everyone just heard a loud "OW!" and they all turned to see Sara sitting in her corner of the blanket holding her hand.

"What happened?" asked Warrick standing to go help his friend.

While everyone was fussing over Sara whose hand was swelling up, Grissom, ever the analytical scientist, looked around to spot what had hurt his beautiful Sara.

"Shit!"

At the sudden sound, all heads turned to Grissom who was not one to swear without cause.

"Guys….get up…slowly" he said never taking his eyes off the spot were Sara's hand had been.

Following the boss's orders, the CSI's huddled around him to see what he was so freaked about. And they did.

"Vespula vulgaris" said the bug man as one by one wasps emerged from a small hole in the ground and hovered over it looking for the intruder.

"Ah!" Greg practically screamed when one flew pat him and ducked to hide behind Grissom.

"Well, I guess that's the end of our picnic" groaned Nick slowly reaching for the blanket and pulling it towards him "Sara, do you think you can ride, or do you want one of us to take you back to the ranch?"

"Uh, I think I'll be fine" she said

"I don't think so" said Grissom taking her wrist and examining her hand while trying to ignore the tingling sensation shooting up his arm from the contact "we need to get something on these bites. And the way your hand is swelling up, there's now ay you can hold the reins" he added looking at Nick for a solution.

"Uh…" said the Texan thinking "Well, if she can't ride, she'll have to go on one of our horses. Um…well, the only two that I think could handle two people are Thunderstorm and Black…" he said referring to the horses Greg and Grissom were riding. Looking around, Nick caught Catherine's eye and her look gave him the solution to the problem "Well, I guess you should go on Black with Grissom…uh…The way Greg's galloping around, you'd probably reached the house with a few broken bones on top of the bites" he added receiving an approving nod from Catherine. "So, Griss, do you mind taking her back?"

Trying not to look too happy at the prospect of being alone with Sara, Grissom nodded and, with some help from Nick, he was soon sitting on the horse with Sara in front of him so that he could hold her steady as she couldn't hold on to him properly.

"Ok, if you have any problems, just call me or Terry, you have our cell's. I'll take June with me and put her back in the barn when we arrive. Have a good trip" said Nick as he and the group moved in one direction and Gil and Sara in the other.

* * *

"How are you doing?" asked Grissom trying desperately to ignore the fresh scent of Sara's hair in his face.

"Meh…It hurts, but its not too bad" she said, wile fighting desperately against the sensations his warm breath on her neck were stirring.

"When we get back, I'll get something ready for you, it should help to take the swelling down" he said looking ahead of him at the house far in the distance.

For a while, they kept going in silence. Finally, Sara leaned back towards him and spoke.

"This is beautiful isn't it?" she asked

_Yea, you are_ "What is?" he asked closing his eyes at the feeling of her against his chest.

"This, the country" she said taking in the fresh air "It sucks that we don't have this back in Vegas"

"Yea, it really does" referring to a different 'this' that her.

* * *

"Back so soon?" asked Eleanor as she spotted Grissom and Sara arriving.

"Uh, yes" he said "we had a little problem. Um, could I get some stuff from the kitchen?"

"Oh, uh, yes, sure" replied Mrs. Stokes while looking at Sara's hand suspiciously.

"Ok, thank you. Sara, why don't you go and sit down, I'll be right back" he said before disappearing into the kitchen.

As Sara walked into the living room, Eleanor asked "What happened to your hand?"

"Oh, uh, wasps nest. I didn't see it"

"Oh…" replied the older woman sucking in some air.

"Yea… Uh, I think I'm going to go upstairs and lay down, could you tell Grissom?"

"Oh, sure, go ahead"

* * *

Hearing a knock on the door, Sara called "come in"

"Hey, Nick's mom told me you were here" said Grissom walking in with a bowl in hand "How're you feeling?"

"Meh…it still hurts, but mostly I'm just tired" she said leaning against the head board examining her hand that was covered in bites

"Well, here" he said handing her the bowl "put your hand in it; it should bring the swelling down"

"Uh, Grissom, what _is_ it?" she asked eying the strange concoction suspiciously

"Uh…its uh… you know what, you don't want to know" he said truthfully getting a laugh from Sara

"Ok…but if it burns my hand off, you'll be held responsible" she said placing her hand into the surprisingly soothing mixture.

"Just keep it in there for a while" he said looking at her as she stared at her hand as she moved it around in the slimy blend.

* * *

"Hey, check that out!" said Greg pointing to two horses on field. One was an adult, but the other was a calf and was walking on very shaky, thin legs.

"Oh…" sighed Catherine looking at the little animal trying to keep up with its mother

"Man, I'm starting to wonder why I live in Vegas" said Warrick taking the fresh air

"Yea…" sighed Greg as he turned his horse to go back to where Nick was waiting for them with a smile on his face.

**TBC**

* * *

CJS-DEPPendant


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine …

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Yay! Chapter 6! Well, in this one we meet some more of Nick's family, plus I think the story is finally beginning to go smoothly, I've gotten over that 'new story' feeling. I hope you guys are still liking it, because I sure am._

_Oh, and in case it got confusing, the date in the fic in this chapter is December 23ed. So x-mas eve will be coming up soon in future chapters. _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Once in the house, the group agreed to let Catherine shower first because no one wanted to suffer her anger, and after that, they'd 'paper-scissors-rocks' it.

"Um…" said Catherine as she saw Grissom leaving the room she was sharing with Sara holding a bowl and in mussed clothes "Uh…you…"

Looking at her, Grissom was sure he was blushing "What? No! I fell asleep in _my_ room and came to check on Sara now"

Frowning, Catherine nodded taking great amusement in her friend's embarrassment "ok…and…what is _that_?" she asked pointing at the bowl he had in his hands.

"Oh, its…uh…just a…it's what I use for wasp bites, makes the swelling go down"

"Ok…I'm not even going to ask what's in it" said Catherine approaching the door Gil was moving away from.

"Wise choice" he said smiling.

Once he was back in his room, Catherine couldn't help smiling _'just because you weren't _with_ Sara doesn't mean you weren't thinking about it…'_

* * *

Lying on his bed, Grissom was, without even realising it, giving up. Because, while he and his mind fought off his feelings, the rest of him ached for Sara, and lately, it seemed like it was the rest of him that was going to win.

"Hey, Gil" said Brass walking into the room "so, how's Sara?"

"She's better" he said sighing

Like so many before him, Brass smiled, thinking of just how deep this guy who never showed emotion had fallen.

* * *

After Catherine, Greg showered followed by Nick, Warrick, Sara and Grissom.

By the time the entomologist was ready, everyone was lazing back in their rooms. Warrick was complaining about the pain he still had on his legs from riding with jeans on, Nick was dozing off, Greg was, as usual, listening to overly loud rock, Sara was lying back in her room thinking, Catherine was checking on Lindsey and Brass was calling the station to make sure everything was getting done without him there.

Knocking on each other's doors, the CSI's finally made it to the living room where they found the latest arrivals. Nick's brother Mathew, his wife Helen and their kids six year old Martha and two year old Connor. Mathew, or Matt as he preferred, was two years older than Nick. He was even jock-y-er than his brother (something few thought possible) and with his handsome features, they knew he could have his pick of any woman. Apparently he had chosen a good one. Helen Stokes was five years younger than her husband, they had met when he was 29 and she 24. She was very tall and thin, and managed to be covered in makeup without looking like a clown or a Barbie.

"Hey" he said shaking his brother's hand while patting him on the back.

"So, how's my youngest nephew?" he asked approaching the couch where the little boy was asleep

"He fell asleep on the ride over" said Helen, Matt's 31 year old wife.

"Poor guys, well, at least he'll be well rested for tomorrow" smiled Nick passing a hand over the sleeping boy's head.

"So, you guys have a good trip?" asked Beth walking over to where her oldest brother was.

"Yea, it all went smoothly, Martha was over the moon about seeing her cousins again" answered Matt taking Connor in his arms and heading up to the room where He and Helen would be staying with the little boy.

Once Matt returned assuring everyone that Connor was sound asleep, the adults made their way to the kitchen to collect some food before reassembling in the living room as the dining room table was too small to fit all of them.

"So, Nicky, care to introduce us?" asked Matt looking at the CSI's

"Oh, yea sorry. These are my co-workers, Warrick, Sara, Catherine, Greg, Brass and by boss Grissom. Cath's daughter is here too, but she's off somewhere with Megan"

"Well, its very nice to meet you all" said the polite Texan as he shook their hands and then took a seat.

Just as a conversation was about to start, the front door opened and in walked a woman whom the CSI's guessed was another of Nick's sisters. Unlike the others though, she wasn't all made up, she didn't look like your typical working mom and on top of it all, she seemed to have walked there in the wind.

"Woa! It's kickin' up a storm out there!" she said closing the door and taking her coat off "Hey guys…sorry I'm late, I really as hopin' to get here before dinner started. Oh well" and just like that, she walked into the kitchen giving each of her parents a quick kiss on the cheek and following the smell of food.

"Ah…" said Nick smiling at his quirkiest sister "That's my youngest sister, Sam"

Looking around, the CSI's saw all the Stokes family members nodding ad figured they'd just met the would-be odd one out of the family.

A few seconds later, she showed up again, this time with a plate full of food in one hand and a knife and fork in the other. Passing right by the CSI's, she seemed to be heading for the family room where the kids where when she stopped. "Oh…uh…" she turned around to look at them "Who're you?"

"Sis, these are my colleagues and boss" said Nick

"Ah…" she said vaguely recalling her mother telling her something about them while she watched TV a few weeks ago.

Smiling, Nick introduced them one by one "This is Catherine, Warrick, Greg, Sara, Brass and Grissom. Cath's daughter is in the other room with the kids"

"Ok…" she said greeting everyone. It seemed that no matter how strange, all the Stokes kids were well polite and well mannered "Well, I've heard a lot about you. Yep. Uh, lets see, Warrick, you're Nick's best friend" she said smiling at the tall green eyed man making Catherine take a small step towards him (even though he wasn't hers to protect). Noticing the blond, Sam smiled "Ah, Catherine, you were Nick's supervisor right? Yea…" she said smiling while making a mental note of the chemistry between her and Warrick "Oh, Brass, you're the copper from New York" she nodded at him "Sara, you're Nick's best, uh, girl frie… no, wait, it's friend that's a girl" she corrected smiling at her brother who looked some where between shocked and amused "Hm, Grissom, you're the boss" _with the gorgeous eyes_ "and you have a thing for bugs"

"Uh, I'm an entomologist" he said

"Yea, that's it" she replied quickly moving on "And finally" _but definitely not least_ "Greg, the wacky t-shirt wearing, spiky haired DNA tech. Oh, now, CSI now, right?"

After Greg nodded while swallowing hard, Nick said "Woa, you really were listening when I was going on and on about work. I thought you'd all tuned out!"

Sam smiled at him and then at the team finished by saying "I always listen to my baby brother. Nice meeting y'all" before walking over to the couch as she had planned and digging in.

"Yea, and that's my sister Sam for ya…" said Nick smiling "She's a little…"

"Awesome!" said Greg while everyone else nodded.

It was true, though Sam could easily have been the random baby that was dropped on the Stokes' doorstep 37 years ago and hadn't been able to fit in yet; she was exactly what Greg had said. With her casual clothes, long wavy dark brown hair and relaxed persona, she was at the same time a kid and a woman most men would love to be with.

"Well, we definitely know the fun will begin now, right?" said Matt smiling at the fact that his favourite sister was home at last.

**TBC**

* * *

_Thank you all so much for reading, and please review if you're enjoying it, or even if you just cave some ideas I might find useful. I'd really like to know what you think! Please? I hope to post chapter 7 tomorrow morning…_

CJS-DEPPendant


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine …

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ And here's chapter 7. I'm really liking the character Sam. At first I hadn't planned to writ he like this, but now I'm glad I did. I hope you're still enjoying the story, and please review. Really, it'll make me want to write so much faster…_

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

After meeting Sam, dinner went on as normal. Catherine and Nick were engaged in some discussion with the three lawyers present: Eleanor, Beth and Debbie, Grissom and Brass were chatting to the Judge, Sara and Warrick were talking to Beth's husband Blake and Emily's husband Michael who were a Doctor and a Dentist, Greg was talking to the Assistant Helen, and Matt, Emily and Debbie's husband Chris were sat at a table talking about something that no one but the business man, architect and engineer understood.

Suddenly, Debbie's cell phone went off making everyone look up. At the table, all conversation ceased when, after a look at her husband, Debbie moved into a spare room and he followed.

Not understanding what had just happened, everyone went back to what they were talking about.

* * *

In the room they'd found, Debbie was hugging her husband while tears fell down her cheeks but she had a smile on her face.

"Hey, come on" he said wiping a tear away "I wanna see you smile"

Nodding, Debbie whipped the tears and said "Lets go back, we'll tell them tomorrow"

* * *

"Well, it's getting late" said Beth drinking the last of her water and walking to the family room to tell the kids to go to sleep.

* * *

"Guys, your aunt rules!" said Lindsey when Sam excused herself to go to the bathroom "she's so cool!"

"Yea, we think so too, but our parents seem to think she's just weird"

"Yea ok, I can see how a family of doctors and lawyers would think a photographer who travels for a living was weird. But still, she's the best!"

All smiling, Lindsey, Megan and James went back to the monopoly game they'd been playing with Sam before she went bankrupt.

"Kids" said Beth in the doorway "time for bed"

There was a series of protests and 'aw's" from the room but in the end, the experienced mother won and they all filed into the different bathrooms to brush their teeth and were soon in their sleeping bags. At one end of the room, the three teenagers were pretending to sleep while waiting for the adults to leave so they could go do something they weren't supposed to, behind the couch, Sean, Eric, and Tom had built a little fort with sheets and pillows, and at the other end by the dolls, Karen, Rose and Martha were huddled together in their Disney Princesses sleeping bags.

* * *

"They asleep?" asked Helen trying to cover a yawn with her hand. When Beth nodded, she stifled another yawn and said "I'm gonna go too, I'm just too tired"

Once she was gone, one by one the Stokes family members and CSI's made their way to their rooms leaving only Sam, Nick and Matt in the living room to chat.

"So, sis, how've you been?" asked Matt putting an arm around his youngest Sister who happened to be older than both of them.

"Yea how's, uh, what's his name, Pierre?"

"Oh" she said smiling "we broke up"

"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that, sis" said Matt

"I'm not" she said "I got bored of him. He got bored of me, it was pretty amicable"

"Well, at least that's good" said Nick reaching for some chocolate that his parents had placed on the table and popping it into his mouth.

"Yea, but I guess, it gets boring on your own after a while" she sighed looking at Nick "don't you think so?"

"Oh, uh, yea…" he said looking as convincing as possible "sure"

"Anyways, enough about me" she too reached for some chocolate "Tell me something about your friends. They seemed nice"

"Yea, in the thirty seconds you were with them" smiled Matt

"Yea…" she said like it was the most obvious thing "You know I don't need long to get a good idea about people"

"Yea…I do" said Matt referring to what she'd said many years ago about his first real girlfriend. It had been something about how she was, in subtle tones, a cheating, lying gold digging whore, and he'd tried to stand up for her. But in the end, Sam was always right.

"So, uh I'm guessing none of them are in serious relationships…"

Frowning, nick replied "Nope. I mean, 'Rick got married, but no one else…"

"Yea, that won't last…"

"What?" he asked confused "How do y…"

"The tension between him and the blond …uh…Catherine - is, just, wow" she replied casually stretching her legs and resting them on the coffee table.

"Well, I guess now that you mention it…"

"And let's see, that, uh, cop, what's his name?"

"Jim"

"Jim right, I'm guessing he hasn't seen any action in, uh, years?"

Not sure how to reply, Nick just stared at his sister

"Yea, big time frustration there. The other two, Grissom and Sara, they're tough, big walls around themselves, probably scared shitless of opening up"

Nick had to sort of laugh at that "yea…" he said smiling

"Matt!" Helen called from the top of the stairs so her husband would go to bed.

Sighing, Matt ate another chocolate and said "duty calls. See you tomorrow" he added kissing his sister's forehead and shaking his brother's hand "Coming, honey!"

After a bit of silence, nick realised something intriguing: she hadn't said anything of Greg.

"What about Greggo?"

"Who? Oh…"

_Yea…_ thought Nick smiling to himself

"He seemed nice, a bit quirky" when Nick tilted his head at her, she added "yea, yea, I know, who am I to talk? But, yea. He seemed cool"

"Ok" said Nick placing his hands on his knees "Well, this was fun, but I really need to get some shut eyes. I'll see you tomorrow"

"Ok" said Samantha standing up too "Oh, and make sure you text her a good night kiss" she added smiling

Suddenly confused and slightly shocked, Nick looked back at his sister "who?"

"Whoever it is you were thinking about when I asked you about being alone sucking" with that, and a smile on her face, Sam went into her room and left Nick with a confused frown to walk up to the stairs thinking _how the hell does she do it?!_

**TBC**

* * *

_I hope you liked it, and I hope you're liking the characters. There are still some characters missing, but I'll introduce them soon, probably in the next chapter. Please let me know what you think. It would really make me happy…_

CJS-DEPPendant


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine …

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Chapter 8! Yay! I'm really loving the reviews, so please keep 'em coming. I hope you like this chapter as much as the others. _

_Please let me know what you think,_

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

With the adults all gone to their rooms, James tapped both Megan and Lindsey on the shoulder and motioned for them to follow him.

Slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, the three teens slipped through the house towards the kitchen.

"Most of the cooking will be done tomorrow, but Grandma always gets some things ready the day before…" whispered Megan to Lindsey following her eldest cousin.

Once inside, Megan and Lindsey sat down at the table and waited for James who was substantially taller than them to reach for the plate of home made cookies.

"Hm…" he said taking one "They're still warm…"

Smiling at each other, they each ate two cookies and would have had a third were it not for a sound coming from the stairs.

"Crap" whispered James when the light was turned on and pulled the two girls quickly under the table.

Trying not to make a sound while fighting not to laugh, the three watched Bill Stokes' slippers and trousers as they went towards the cabinet that housed the glasses, then towards the sink and stood there for a while.

Once the light was off again and James heard his grandfather climb the stairs again, he heaved a sigh of relief and they crawled out from under the table.

Sure, Bill stokes wasn't half as strict with his grand kids as he was with his own, but they still knew that chances were he'd be mad at them, and that was something they definitely didn't want on Christmas Eve.

Shuffling the cookies on the plate so it didn't look like any were missing, the three sniggered and went back to their room as stealthily as they could.

Before shutting the door, they could have sworn they saw a flash, but neither paid any attention.

* * *

Smiling to herself, Sam closed the door to her room again and checked the photo she'd just taken with her state of the art Nikon.

"Oh yea…" she whispered to herself "…I'm definitely going to enjoy myself this week"

* * *

"Morning" whispered Megan walking into the living room where her younger cousins Martha, Karen, Rose, Eric, Sean and Tom were fighting over the remote. Because everyone in the Stokes house knew that with three girls and three boys, there were going to be fights over weather to watch Disney channel or cartoon network in the morning, and every year, those fights had a way of waking people up at eight am.

"Megan…" whined Karen "Tell Sean to put Disney channel on!"

"No way" said the boy "We're watching Samurai Jack!"

Groaning, Megan said "Ok, girls, you can go use the TV in the family room"

"But Lindsey and James are still there" protested Martha crossing her arms over her chest

Megan Sighed. "They're already up, I'll just go tell 'em to move" and with that, she went back into the room to get her two friends before her brothers made her cousins cry.

* * *

"Greg!" yelled Nick when, once again the crazy haired CSI turned the lights on

"Oh, uh, sorry" he apologised closing the light. It wasn't his fault, he was used to living alone…

Not wanting to repeat the embarrassing happenings of the night before, Greg made sure to put some pants on over his dark blue shark printed boxers before leaving the room.

* * *

After a quick trip downstairs, Greg returned to his room with a bowl of cereal in hand. Unfortunately, he was so hungry that while looking at the bowl, he bumped into someone sending his chocolate cereal and milk flying onto both of them.

"Greg!" yelled Sara looking down at her now mostly brown pyjamas "uh!"

"Uh…Sorry, Sara…"

Calming herself down, Sara forced herself to smile "It's ok…I'm just gonna change"

Without another word, Sara went back into her room and got changed leaving Greg to lament his breakfast which was now all over the floor.

* * *

"Good morning" said Brass as he and his still sleepy room mate walked into the kitchen "what was that commotion I heard outside?" he asked looking around

"That was _Greg_" said Sara buttering her piece of toast a little too aggressively

"Jeez, Sara, I said I was sorry!"

"Ok, kids, break it up" said Catherine who had seen the state of Sara's pyjamas, smiling

"What'd you do, Greg?" asked Warrick reaching for the jam and accidentally brushing his hand against Catherine's making him pull back like he'd just received an electrical shock – a move that didn't go unnoticed my Catherine.

"I got some cereal to eat in the room like you told me I could" said Greg looking at Nick "and when I was walking back, I accidentally bumped into Sara"

"Yea, and got sticky chocolate filled milk and cereals all over my pyjamas, that's great, what am I supposed to sleep in now, huh?"

When Greg opened his mouth to say she could sleep in her underwear, Nick subtly kicked his friend, leaned in and said "I wouldn't go there…"

Meanwhile, still a little hazed from being woken by Brass when he hadn't had such a good night's sleep in, well, ever, Grissom only caught snippets of conversation. But one thing he did get loud and clear: Sara apparently had nothing to sleep in.

_This is not an image I need right now_ he thought to himself while trying to get images of Sara in her underwear or even naked out of his head _no, think bugs…yea…I like bugs…bugs…but I like Sara more_ suddenly surprised that his mind would admit such a thing, Grissom, without even realising it, groaned and passed a hand over his face.

"You ok, there boss?" asked Warrick happy to have somewhere to look other than the blond sitting in front of him

"Uh?" he asked like he'd just realised there were other people in the room "yea, yea, I'm fine, Warrick. Thanks. Just really sleepy" he added throwing an evil eye at Brass who merely smiled and shrugged.

_Beep beep beepbeep_

"Uh...sorry guys" said Nick taking his cell phone out of his pocket and reading whatever message he had just gotten.

Registering the smile on her friend's face, Sara had to ask "Trish or Becca?"

Looking up from his phone Nick playfully frowned at his best gir… friend that was a girl "If you must know, neither" and then, texting something back quickly, he shut the phone and placed it back in his pocket like nothing had happened.

"Morning y'all" came a voice from the doorway that no one expected.

"Oh, Heya sis" greeted Nick seeing Sam in the door way with her Nikon in hand going through some shots.

"Hey, Katie's here" she said announcing the arrival of the last Stokes sister and her family as she turned the camera off and looked up.

"Awesome! Let's go" said Nick as his friends, food in hands followed him.

* * *

_It is a Happy Christmas! _Thought Lindsey trying not to squeal or blush as the new comers arrived...

"Hey, you ok?" asked James eyeing his new friend

"Huh?" she asked still looking at the newcomers

"I asked if you were ok" he repeated a slight laugh in his tone

"Oh, uh, yea, I'm _fine_…" she said referring mostly to how fine the guy in front of her was

"So, guys, this is my sis Katie" he said hugging her "her husband Joe and their sons Austin and Bill" he added greeting the Cop and the 13 and 11 year old boys

As polite as all the other kids, the two greeted each CSI in turn before moving on to hang with their cousins.

"Heya guys" said Austin approaching the three teens

"Hey" they all said back, Megan trying not to laugh at Lindsey's face

"Uh, who're you?" he asked eyeing the blond from head to toe and, truth be told, liking what he saw.

A few meters away, Nick leaned into Catherine and whispered "Uh oh…" while smiling in the direction of the teens

"Don't even…" she said already fearing her relaxation would be ruined by having to look after a loves truck teen.

"I'm Lindsey, Catherine's daughter" she said sticking out her hand to greet him.

Taking it and smiling, he replied "Austin"

"Ok, so, let's go?" asked James happy to have his buddy there "PS2 is all set up"

"Yea!" cheered Austin walking off with his buddy while Lindsey (having snapped back into herself) and Megan followed.

**TBC**

* * *

_There ya go, I hope you like it, IMO it's starting to get a little more interesting, but hey, maybe that's just me…_

_Please review!_

CJS-DEPPendant


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine …

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Chapter 9! I really am trying to get some more GSR and Yo!Bling in here, really I am… I hope next chapter I can work in some ideas I've been getting :D …_

_As always, please tell me what you think,_

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

"So, Katie" said Sara as she sat next to Nick's sister and Catherine "You're a doctor?"

Smiling, Katie nodded "Yes, I'm a paediatrician"

"Ah…" said Sara smiling, she really as no good at small talk. Luckily, Catherine took over

"So, your sons are 11 and 13?"

"Yes, Bill just turned 11 last month and Austin will be 14 in March. And Lindsey, she's 13?"

"Yea…" sighed Catherine

* * *

In the other side of the room, Joe, Katie's husband, was talking to his fellow cop Brass while Nick and Warrick were arguing with Blake and Michael over football, Grissom was talking to the Judge and Greg with Sam.

"So, how'd you like being a photographer?" he asked her

"I love it. I'm the boss, I go where I want, when I want, I stay however long I want, and I always have something to take pictures of…" she said smiling

"Yea, I guess that kind of freedom must be good, but don't you ever just want to stay in one place, maybe have a family…"

"Meh…maybe if I were to meet the right guy, or get hit across the head with a brick…" she added smiling making Greg laugh "I dunno, I don't think I could handle being in the same place for the rest of my life. I mean, come on, I used to run from home as a kid because I was tired of the routine…I don't think I could do it"

"Yea, I guess routine does suck sometimes, but it's good to have some security, to be able to foresee things. I couldn't imagine not knowing what I'd do tomorrow…" said Greg sipping some water

"Really? God, that's what I love, every morning I can decide what to do, or where to go. If I did settle down, I'd have to plan ahead, I'd have to build a routine with some security and stability in it…nah, that's not for me" she said smiling.

"Well, so long as you're happy, I guess" he said smiling at her smile. There was just something about it, like there was no worry, she was just, happy.

* * *

"Get him, Get him!" yelled Megan over James' shoulder while he hit the buttons on his controller to try and kill his cousin's player

"Aw!" cried Austin when his player fell to the floor and a large KO appeared on the screen "I guess I'm rusty from playing against my brother. He's too easy"

"You wanna try, girls?" asked James handing his controller to Megan while Austin did the same to Lindsey

"Uh…I don't know what to do" said Lindsey who had never been into video games

"Oh, come on, it's easy" said Megan smiling as she chose her character

"You just say that because your brothers make you play with them" said James smiling at his favourite cousin

"Here, I'll help you" said Austin leaning into the blond girl "chose that one" he said pointing at the screen "he'll kick her ass"

Smiling, Lindsey fumbled with the buttons

"Up…up…left…there" said Austin smiling

"So, uh, what do I do?" she asked as the battle field appeared

"Well, those buttons are to kick and those are to punch…" he said pointing at what eh was referring to "and then just…go" he said when the green GO letters appeared on screen and Megan started punching at Lindsey's character "Come one!" said Austin. When Lindsey didn't do anything, he put his hand on the controller over hers and pressed a few buttons. Though it did make the player move, it was too late and he KO'd

"Yea…" sighed Lindsey looking down as she blushed from his hand and handing him back the controller "I guess I need to practice…"

"No worries, you've got plenty of time" Austin replied smiling as he chose the character he wanted to use on the screen.

"Yea, by the time we get through with you, you'll be a pro at this" said James smiling while doing the same as Austin.

* * *

"Whose up for some poker?" asked Matt holding up a pack of cards and some chips

After a series of 'yea's' and 'you bet's, Bill, Beth, Blake, Matt, Michael, Joe, Sam, Grissom, Catherine, Greg, Nick and Brass moved to the dining room table to play while Warrick stayed put in his place not wanting to even start.

Now the only other man in the room was Christopher, Debbie's husband who hadn't once left her side and, not having much in common with the engineer, Warrick decided to go check on Lindsey and the rest of the kids though why he chose to do that, he wasn't quite sure.

* * *

"Hey, you all having fun?" asked Warrick looking around. In one corner Martha, Karen and Rose were playing with some dolls, behind the couch, the boys were in their fort and the teens were sitting on the couch playing Play Station 2 "whatcha playing?" he asked sitting on the arm rest next to Lindsey

"Tekken 4" said Austin turning the controller like it would actually make the character do what he wanted

"Ah…yes, Tekken…" he said

Seconds later, James won for the sixth consecutive time and Austin turned to Warrick "You know how to play?"

"Yea…I know a bit" he said smiling at Lindsey knowing he was going to thrash James

"Wanna match?" asked the 14 year old clearly thinking he'd win

"Uh…Sure" said the CSI taking Austin's controller and facing the screen

Within seconds, the two had chosen their characters while barely looking at the screen and were all set to wrestle.

After a few minutes, Warrick was the obvious winner having lost only three of his eight players while James had lost them all

"Woa…you said you knew a _bit_" said James

"Yea, when we have some down time at the lab, your uncle and I tend to play some…" he replied smiling while handing the controller back to Austin.

* * *

"I fold" said Catherine who had just lost her first hand

"Uh…I'll raise" said Nick smiling at Sara who was next to him

"So will I" she replied adding some chips

Ignoring the smiles, Grissom, concentrated as ever thought for a moment then checked

That round went to Sara and so they continued. Soon Beth was out, as were Michael, Greg and Joe.

Moving out of the room in their different directions, Michael and Joe went to check on their kids then joined their wives in the living room, Beth went to join her sisters at the couch and Greg decided to join Warrick and the teenagers in yelling at a TV screen.

Now only Bill, Matt, Sam, Sara, Grissom, Catherine, Nick and Brass were left at the table. In a few plays, Catherine lost her fake-money and left the room, Brass, Nick and Sara were next to leave since they insisted on bluffing not realising that masters like Grissom and Bill would be able to call them on it. Finally, only Grissom, Matt, Sam and Bill were left. And the game began to get very interesting.

Grissom had no tells as far as any one knew, not that any of the CSI's were surprised at this, the man was a brick wall, and if anyone knew it, it was Sara. Bill was such a well trained Judge, that, even with psychic abilities, no one could read his mind, Sam was just perfect at looking like there was nothing on her mind and Matt the tough business man never let anything slip.

"Raise" said Matt looking at his cards

Eyeing his opponents, Grissom nodded and added some chips to the pile, Bill did the same and finally, Sam checked.

The hand went to Bill. In the next hand, they managed to eliminate Matt who went all in not realising that Grissom was holding three aces.

* * *

Standing in the doorway, Catherine spotted Warrick and Greg laughing with the teenagers. Apparently Warrick had taken up training Lindsey while Greg helped out Megan considering Warrick was a much better opponent than she'd ever played.

Catherine sighed. After winning, Warrick threw his hands in the air saying 'Yea' and Lindsey high-fived him. He even got along well with her daughter. Smiling sadly, she walked away silently cursing the man's choice to get married out of the blue.

* * *

"Are they _still_ playing?" asked Eleanor looking at the clock and realising it was time for dinner

"Yep, mama" said Matt taking Connor from Helen who needed to go to the bathroom "Dad's still in trying to beat Gil and Sam"

Sighing, Eleanor went to tell the three that the party was over because it was time for lunch.

* * *

Agreeing on a draw, Grissom shook Sam and Bill's hand while Bill hugged his daughter to him with one arm.

"We'll have to finish that some time" said the Judge smiling "where'd you learn to play like that, Samantha?" he asked his daughter

Cringing at the use of her whole name, Sam replied "Pierre had a strange fascination with Poker…though god knows he sucked!"

"Ah…" said the Judge as she walked away sighing trying to remember exactly who Pierre was.

"Now boys!" said Eleanor poking her head in the room again

"Sorry Honey" said Bill

"Sorry, Eleanor" said Grissom at the same time.

Patting his new poker buddy and the man who'd been there for his son on the back, Bill proceeded to clear up the cards and chips and the two went out to eat with the rest of the people.

**TBC**

* * *

_I hope you're still liking it and please leave a review and tell me what you think, thanks ;)_

_Please review!_

CJS-DEPPendant


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine …

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Chapter 10! Wooooho! Unfortunately, I start school tomorrow so I'll have homework to do __but I'll try to update as frequently as possible. So please keep up the reviews and feedback so I'll know you're still liking it and I'll feel encouraged._

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

"This is Great, ma!" said Nick with his mouth half full; if there was one thing he missed about life at the ranch, it was Eleanor's cooking.

"Yea, Mrs. S" said Greg his mouth also full

"Thank you, boys" she said smiling as she too started eating.

"Where're the kids?" asked Catherine looking at Greg and Warrick

"we tofd 'em de lunc ws svrd" tried Greg after taking a large bite

"What?!" asked Catherine

"We told them lunch was served" said Warrick

"Oh…and?"

"They said they were coming…" said Warrick poking a piece of meat with his fork and holding it in the air as he spoke "I can go call 'em again, if you want"

"Would you?" asked Catherine who just wasn't in the mood for confrontation, after all, it _was_ Christmas eve, fighting wasn't something she wanted to do.

"Ok" said Warrick smiling quickly as he left his plate in its place and went to get the kids

* * *

"Guys…" called Warrick when he entered the family room

"Huh?" asked Lindsey who seemed to have understood how to use the controller and was, much like Austin had, turning the controller and her whole body as if it would help while Megan did the same to try and beat her.

"Lins, your mom wants you to go eat, and so do your parents" he added pointing around at the other three teens "come on, the others are already there" he said referring to the other 8 stokes kids.

"Uh…ok…just…one…sec" said Lindsey as she killed Megan's character for the first time "Yea!" she shouted high-five-ing Austin and smiling at him only to receive a smile back.

"Uh…" sighed Warrick seeing the interaction and knowing how Cath's peace was sure to be disturbed by it "ok, come on now"

"Coming" said Lindsey getting up and smiling as everyone else followed

* * *

After lunch, Matt and Helen decided to for a walk with their kids and Debbie and Chris said they had some shopping to do and left around 3pm.

The rest of the Stokes adult clan just sat around chatting while Nick took his friends into the dining room.

"So, what'd y'all wanna do?" he asked

"Uh… I'm really partial to just sleeping…" said Greg who was still angry at the fact that he kept waking up so early.

"Well, I'd like to go ride, since my last trip got cut short" said Sara and Nick nodded

"I'm up for a little PS2 with the kids, if y'all don't mind" said Warrick who had been invited by his young friends to join them in a tournament

"Brass?" asked Nick

"Uh, I think I'll go riding too" said the cop

"Ok, Cath?"

"Uh…I'll go ride too" she replied

"Griss?"

"Uh…" he thought about it. Riding meant being with Sara, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could be near her without being _with_ her, so that's wasn't that good of a choice… he wasn't exactly sure what PS2 was, but it didn't seem like something he'd want to do, so instead he said "I think I'll just stay here, catch up on some reading or something"

"Ok, I'll go ridin' with y'all" said Nick looking towards Catherine, Brass and Sara"

* * *

Within 15 minutes, Grissom was sitting on a chair on the front porch reading an entomology text book, Warrick was yelling at the TV with the youngsters, Greg was sound asleep in his room and the other four CSI's were on their horses trying to figure out where to go.

"Well, we have two hours, so, I say we just go for a tour around the property, maybe stop by the stream for a while and then head back, get showered and ready for dinner. What'd ya say?"

"Sure" said Catherine and the other nodded.

Sitting on the porch, Grissom saw his friends and Sara head off and couldn't help wondering why he was so bad at just showing how he felt.

* * *

"Come on, come on" James shouted at the controller in frustration as he lost again.

"Hey, you know what they say" said Warrick smiling happily as Lindsey gave him an extra point on the score sheet they'd come up with "practice makes perfect"

Sighing, James merely shook his head and handed the controller to Megan so she could try her luck against the unbeatable CSI.

* * *

"Look, there they are again" said Catherine as she pointed to the two horses they'd seen the previous day "he can actually stand now" she said smiling

"Oh…" sighed Sara directing June to stand next to May on whom Catherine was sitting.

"Ladies?" asked Brass wanting to go on

"Huh, yea. Let's go" they said turning away and following along the stream to the back of the stokes property.

_Beep beepbeep beep_

"Let me guess, your mystery lady again?" asked Sara as Nick pulled out his phone and as smile spread on his face "I'll take that as a yes"

Texting quickly, Nick replied to the message and quickly put his phone away and kept going.

"So, you gonna tell me about that?" asked Catherine who always wanted some fresh gossip as she and Sara manoeuvred their horses to walk one on each side of Nick's horse Trigger.

"I dunno, are you two gonna tell me about your mystery men?"

Laughing, Brass too got his horse in line with the other three and said "Oh, come on Nick, their guys are no mystery…"

Looking away, Sara and Catherine feigned ignorance

"Oh come on, girls, if you want the dirt on us, you have to give us some on you…" said Nick as he and Brass smiled

"Nicky, if there was anything to know about, don't you think a CSI of your calibre and a seasoned detective like Brass would know?" asked Catherine hoping flattery would get her and Sara, though mainly her, out of the conversation.

"Oh, I don't know, Cath" said Nick grinning towards Brass before continuing "I don't think being CSI's makes us any better at picking up on these things, I mean look at… well, you know who I'm talking about." He said smiling at Sara who was purposefully looking straight a head "Oh, and of course there's the other CSI who dives head first into rash…uh…_conclusions_…without realising that there are other…uh…pieces of evidence to take into consideration…"

_Yea_ thought Sara _being the top CSI in the lab doesn't make him see a damn thing when it comes to… I'd say 'us' but there is no 'us'! Argh!_

Meanwhile, Catherine was thinking of something herself _yea, diving head first into a rash _marriage_ without realising that there were other _women_ out there. I wonder what CSI's he's referring too…_

However, neither wanted to admit to their feelings so instead, Sara looked at Catherine and she said "well Nicky, I guess you're right. I mean, even our lab techs are getting sloppy with noticing things. Maybe that's why you're spending so much time there, helping them out. That's sweet Nick, I'm sure … _they_ really appreciate it" she said looking at him while holding her hand out behind her so Sara could 'low'-five her without Nick noticing.

Trying to come up with a retort, Nick looked to Brass who merely looked back at him with an amused expression.

"Uh…"

"Yea…" sighed Catherine smiling "that's what I thought" said Catherine kicking her horse a little so she'd start galloping off. Following her friend, Sara did the same and soon Brass followed.

"Oh, you're not getting away from me that easy" said Nick smiling as he got his horse, which happened to be the fastest of the four, to run after them.

**TBC**

* * *

_I hope you're still liking it and please leave a review and tell me what you think, thanks ;)_

_Please review!_

CJS-DEPPendant


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N: **__I actually managed to post sooner than I hoped (YAY!) _

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

"Hey" said Beth looking out the window to look for the four riders because Eleanor was asking people to start getting ready for dinner as there were only two hours to go and 32 people to shower and change "there they are"

After stowing the horses, the four walked back to the house laughing at how badly Nick had beaten them.

"Oh, hey Gil" said Brass upon seeing his friend on the porch

Forcing a cough while looking at Sara, Nick grinned "whatcha doing, Griss?" he asked

"Oh…uh…reading…" replied the entomologist keeping his eyes on the Texan rather than the brunette CSI

Over the last hours, Grissom had sat on the porch staring at the book hoping the information would osmose into his brain since he definitely wasn't paying enough attention to get it in there the traditional way. After all, how could he focus when all he could think about was her? Before Nick was taken, he was prepared to spend the rest of his life ignoring her; rather his feelings for her. But after the abduction, he realised how short life could be, how unpredictable it was and how little he had to account for his 50 years. Sure, he had a career and a reputation, but those didn't smile at him, he couldn't hold them at night or kiss them when he needed them, he couldn't comfort them when they were down or help them out when Ecklie wanted to fire them. But Sara…

"Reading?" asked Catherine picking up the book from his hand and reading the title "the wonderful world of entomology, new edition" she added smiling in a 'that's ok, Gil" way.

Grissom merely shrugged and, after a second announced he was going go get changed.

"Hm…" said Nick nudging Sara while grinning and following Grissom into the house.

* * *

"Austin!" came his father, Joe's voice from the doorway "go get ready before your Grandma has to say it again!"

Not wanting to disobey the his cop father, Austin sighed, rolled his eyes at the girls and James so his dad couldn't see, and went towards the bathroom.

"You should probably go too" said Warrick to Lindsey "you don't want your mom getting mad, do you?"

"Uh…" she said looking over Warrick's shoulder "Hi mom!"

"Lindsey, why aren't you changed yet?" asked Catherine

"Uh…we were playing, and I didn't realise…"

"Actually, it's my fault, Cath" said Warrick holding up a hand "uh, I was playing with them, and I didn't realise what time it was. I should have been paying attention" he said looking at the woman whose features instantly softened.

"Oh…uh, it's ok…uh, just, Lindsey, go get ready, you two should probably go too…" she said looking at Megan and James who smiled and nodded "Dinner's in two hours and there's still a lot of people to get dressed"

"Ok, Ms. Willows" said James smiling as he stood to leave the room

"Please, call me Catherine" said Cath who hated being referred to as Mrs or Ms by people younger than her.

Once the kids were gone, she smiled at Warrick telling him she wasn't mad and he smiled back still looking guilty.

On her way up to the corridor where she and her fellow CSI's were staying, Catherine heard Lindsey and Megan's voices

"Ah!" sighed Lindsey in frustration "honestly, if I had spun her that one about playing and not noticing the time, she'd have yelled at me and lectured me about responsibility, but Warrick? Oh, no… no, if hunky, green eyed Warrick says he didn't notice the time, she just melts on the spot and nods…ugh!"

Lindsey knew it sounded like she didn't like Warrick, that she was sounding a little more than bitter, but the truth was, she actually did like him, he'd always been a great friend, and had been there for her on more than one occasion when her mother wasn't the one she chose to talk to, it was just that, like any teenager, she didn't like the different treatment that she got from her mother in comparison to adults.

"Hey, but isn't he married?" asked Megan

"Yea, but you saw them, think that's a problem?"

Though no response came, Catherine, who was looking somewhere between confused and shocked figured Megan must have made a 'good point' face.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Warrick reaching starting to climb the stairs where he found his favourite blond looking strange.

"Huh?" she asked not quite registering he was there "Oh, uh, nothing…" with that, she walked the rest of the way up the stairs and Warrick was about to follow when he heard something that caught his ear.

"But come on…he's _married_" said Megan, who, while not being a naïve little girl, was brought up in an environment where marriage was built to last and infidelity seriously frowned upon.

Not wanting to hear anymore and figuring why Catherine looked the way she did, Warrick took the path she had just taken up the stairs, his mind going over all the things he'd heard.

* * *

"Greg! Called Catherine pounding on the bathroom door "get a move on!"

Inside, she was sure Greg was merely standing in front of the mirror gelling his hair and practicing smiles and winks.

Suddenly the door opened "Jeez, Cath, we're _sharing_ the bathroom, that means you have to respect my time there" he said smiling

"I did, I respected it for 20 minutes…" she replied smiling just as fake and broadly as him.

"Greggo!" called Sara moving towards her room, already dressed and ready for dinner "how many times am I gonna catch you in embarrassing situations in this corridor?" she asked

Looking down at himself, Greg realised that, while his hair was in perfect condition, he was still wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Blushing, he nodded at Catherine and quickly slipped into his room.

Laughing, Sara shook her head towards Catherine who did the same and kept going for her room while the blond moved into the bathroom.

* * *

By the time everyone in the Stokes house hold was dressed and ready for dinner, Eleanor was busy making sure everything was set to go.

At only one minute past seven (which was late according to what Megan, James and Austin told Lindsey), everyone was told to go serve themselves and soon they were all sitting around in little groups chatting as they ate.

"Hey" said Sam approaching Nick who was talking to his brother Matt, Greg and Warrick "what's going on there?" she asked nodding towards her sister Debbie who was whispering something to her husband as they smiled.

Shrugging, Matt said "no idea…" and with a nod, Nick agreed

"Meh…" sighed Sam already getting bored of thinking about it "so, whatcha talking about?"

"My honeymoon" said Warrick "I took my wife for a week to Hawaii, it cost me a bit, but totally worth it" he lied thinking of how he wished he'd never been in the position to take her on a honeymoon in the first place.

"Really? I was there taking pictures a few years back, I met a guy there too…oh, what was his name?" she asked more to herself than to anyone else

Smiling at his brother, Nick said "Zach"

"or Kyle" his brother pointed out both looking with smirks at their sister who glared playfully back. Though she took the jokes in her stride, she only did so because she knew her brothers were aware that she would never be with two guys at once, she merely didn't settle down or make long term commitments with any. But while they were together, the rules were it was just them.

"It was Zach…Kyle was in the Bahamas" she corrected "anyway, it's beautiful, I had a bunch of shots blown up and actually sold a few…"

"Yea, it really is" said Matt who made it a tradition to take his wife and kids to some new and exotic place every summer "the kids had a blast, and uh, so did Helen and I" he added getting some laughs from the group.

"You ever been?" Sam asked Greg who didn't seem ready to answer a question

"Oh…hem…oh yea, my parents took me down there a few times, uh, actually, more than a few times, we uh, went there almost every year…" he said looking at the floor.

"Really?" asked Sam "what island's did you visit?"

As Greg got into his many paradisiacal childhood vacations, Matt and Nick moved away towards Grissom and Brass who were chatting to Bill and Michael and Warrick moved to where Lindsey the teens where calling him over.

**TBC**

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter, and please keep me posted, I'm loving the reviews and just thought I'd take this opportunity to thank you all for reviewing. The feedback had been great, and I'm feeling really motivated :D I also know that some people prefer to review only at the end of a story, and I understand, so if you're reading this and haven't reviewed, I hope you're enjoying it and hope to hear from you in the future ;)_

_Please review!_

CJS-DEPPendant


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N: **__Hey! I did get to update today! Yay :D … and it's an extra long chapter too…just thought I'd warn you on that. I hope you like it and as usual, please let me know what you think._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

"So, what'd you guys usually do for Christmas?" Austin asked Lindsey while taking his fork to his mouth

"Meh, it's just me, my mom and my grandma…sometimes the team stops by on Christmas eve, sometimes mom has to go work, it's nothing like this" she said looking around at the 32 people standing and sitting around.

"No more family?" asked Megan

"Nope…" Lindsey shook her head "my dad died a couple years ago…"

"I'm so sorry…" said James

"Yea, it gets easier" she said taking a breath " and my mom has a sister somewhere, but we never met… oh, and my granddad _sometimes_ calls…but, uh, he's a pretty busy guy, uh, he's, uh, Sam Braun…"

"Sam Braun?" asked Megan not understanding who he was

"Like the casino guy?" asked James as Lindsey nodded "woa…really?"

"Yea, but my mom only found out he was her dad a few years back…for most of her life he was just a friend…"

Again slightly surprised by their friend's untraditional family, the other teens nodded while everyone kept eating.

* * *

"Uh…" said Christopher placing himself next to Debbie who was chatting to Beth and Katie "…could I talk to you?"

"Sure…we'll be back" she added smiling at her sisters

As the two walked away, Beth and Katie looked at each other both wondering why the pair was acting so strange.

Now out of anyone's ear shot, Chris spoke "Honey, come on, tell them…"

"Now?" she asked looking round. Sure, the time was as good as any, it was Christmas Eve and everyone was in the room "are you sure?"

"Of course I am!" he said smiling as he took her hand.

Taking a deep breath, Debbie called for everyone's attention "Guys!" she called "Uh, could I have your attention please?"

Once everyone looked towards them confused, she looked at Chris who squeezed her hand and proceeded "Uh, well, last night, Chris and I got a call from, uh…well, you all know that we've spent the past three years trying to have a baby…" now some people's faces seemed to light up "and uh, well, our doctor suggested we try artificial insemination. Uh, we didn't tell you before because we were waiting to be 100 percent sure, but um…I'm pregnant!"

The room erupted into congratulations and cheers as Chris kissed his wife's cheek and smiled shaking the hand Bill was extending to him.

"Woa…" said Megan looking around "one more" she continued smiling standing up to congratulate her aunt.

At the other end of the room, having already congratulated their sister, Sam and Nick were smiling "looks like we're the odd ones out" she said as he sighed "hey, don't worry, you'll find her. I know how much you want it all, and you'll have it…now if you'd just give me a name…" she added hoping he'd tell her who it was he was constantly texting.

"Ha" he said pointing at her and laughing "that was a good try. Really, it was"

* * *

The rest of the night was spent in a happy mood. The Stokes talked excitedly about the baby news, the CSI's chatted either between themselves or with some of the others, the kids all got together and played not only PS2, dolls and forts, but managed to find a few games they could all play together and were having a blast. It was finally becoming absolutely clear why Nick loved going back to the ranch as much as he did.

"Guys…" whispered Beth so the kids couldn't hear "maybe its time they went to bed…"

Nodding, the other moms went into the room to break up the games and tell their kids to go to bed, and this time they knew there would be no resistance because every kid knew, the sooner they went to sleep, the sooner they could open their presents, or, as the younger ones believed, the sooner Santa would come.

* * *

"I'm gonna turn in too" said Brass trying not to yawn as he looked at the clock and realised what time it was. After him, everyone followed, each CSI with every intention of returning at some point to put the gifts they had been in charge of carrying under the tree.

When the last CSI to take the trip, Greg, reached the bottom landing, he found Sam staring at the now massive heap of gifts.

"Woa!" he exclaimed in a whisper "and I thought there were a lot of presents while I was growing up!"

"Yea, looks like the Stokes have outdone themselves again" she said smiling "So, who's that for?" she asked looking at the gift he had in his hands,

"Oh, its for Brass" he said looking down at it "we, uh, bought presents for each other together and then we each carried one here to make sure no one saw theirs…"

"Ah" she said nodding

"Well…hem…I'm, uh, off to bed…" he said "you staying here?"

"I think a little longer, yea" she said looking at the lit tree and the presents under it.

As Greg started to climb the stairs, he heard her say "you know, Christmas is one routine I'll never get tired of…"

Smiling as she continued to stare at the tree, Greg agreed, Christmas really was a spectacular time.

* * *

"Megan…" came a voice as the teen was woken "Megan!"

"Huh?" she asked rubbing her eyes "Oh, hey Rose…" she said looking at the little girl who was smiling the biggest smile she'd ever seen.

"Was Santa here?" she asked still shaking the now awake Megan

"Uh, I dunno…" she said smiling "…why don't I go wake people up and we'll find out?"

"Yea!" said the little girl beaming as her cousin got out and went upstairs to wake her parents.

"Aha!" came a voice from the kitchen "I thought it was about time one of you got up" said Eleanor going towards her granddaughter "which one woke you?"

Smiling at her grandmother, Megan replied "Rosie…"

"Of course…"

Once she'd woken her parents, one by one the different room doors opened and the inhabitants came out. All dressed the most casual clothes they owned, the 32 inhabitants of the Stokes home made their way to the living room and soon all the family and CSI's were sitting down stairs around the tree.

As was customary, they got the kids presents out first. Little Rosie, who was so excited she couldn't keep still got a bunch of dolls from her parents, uncles, aunts and grandparents, Martha and Karen both got some new Barbies and child-makeup sets. The youngest boy, Connor, who was completely oblivious to what was going on, got some new toys and a new chair for the car, Eric, Sean, Tom and Bill all got different games for the PS2 and different sets of Pirates of the Caribbean and Spiderman toys. As for the teens, Megan got a brand new iPod from her parents and clothes from the rest of her family, James got a new computer from his parents that he couldn't stop smiling about and clothes from the rest of the family, Austin received new sports gear from his grandparents who always encouraged his love for sports and DVDs and clothes from the rest of the family. Finally, Lindsey couldn't stop thanking her mom for the brand new iPod she so wanted which had been secretly filled with songs by Greg, the five DVDs she'd asked for and a 200 dollar gift certificate for clothes from the Team.

Now that the kids were all busy testing out their newest belongings, the adults got a chance to see what they'd each gotten. As per their request, the CSI's were last to exchange gifts letting the Stokes family members go first.

"So, should we see what we got each other this year?" asked Greg who had been marvelling at Sam's new photographic gear her family had bought her.

"So…uh…" began Nick who was supposed to start.

They had previously agreed, in meetings that always excluded one member who would give a gift to whom, and, unbeknownst to them, there had been some secrecy going on behind the scenes, particularly between Catherine and Nick. So, as agreed, Nick was the first to take a package from under the tree and hand it to Greg.

"Here ya go, buddy" he said smiling as Greg tore the paper to find some ear friendly state of the art head phones, a note on how overly loud music damaged ear-drums, and what he didn't understand, some packet of what seemed to be plasters to put on his nose called 'breath-right'.

"Thanks guys, but, uh, what's with the…" he said holding up the random box.

"You'll see" said Catherine smiling

"Ok…" he said reaching for Brass' gift and handing it to him "hey…" he said once Brass had gotten past the paper "you got one too!"

"yea…" he said also not quite understanding why and then picking up the other present in the package "a box of 100 latex gloves?" he asked

"Yea…" said Nick laughing "so you can stop using the end of your pen to pick up evidence"

After sharing a laugh with the team, Grissom reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope "and uh, we also have this…" he said handing it over to his best friend

Looking around at the now silent team, Brass opened the envelope and was shocked by what he found.

"Uh…how…?"

"We, uh, Gil" said Catherine "found her and, he called her up…she's willing to see you…"

Brass couldn't say anything, he was simply staring at the photo of his daughter Ellie, looking better than he'd seen her in years and examining the phone number and address on the back of it.

"Oh…uh, my… thank you…thank you so much…" he said reaching over and hugging Grissom who, to everyone's surprise responded

"Hey, everyone deserves a second chance" he said patting the cop on the back.

Still teary eyed Brass reached for Warrick's gift and handed it to him.

"Oh, I get it!" he said smiling as he saw the manipulated photo. Sure, it was of him and Tina, but ignoring the presence of the woman he wished he'd never married, he understood what the team had done. They'd gotten, probably off the internet, a photo of a couple at a wedding and had Archie manipulate it so that his and Tina's faces were there instead of those from the web; after all, he had eloped and kept his friends out of what would have been the most important moment of his life thus far (were it not a mistake) "Thank you" he said hugging and kissing all around.

He then proceeded to hand Catherine her gift while smiling broadly knowing this one would be good "here ya go"

Though Catherine didn't understand why he bowed to her, she smiled and, looking confused, opened the box. She couldn't help but laugh at the metal crown with her name etched into it.

"Your majesty" said all the team in unison mockingly bowing to the woman who acted like the queen of the lab

"Ha ha…" she said laughing "funny"

"Ah, but you have to wear it" said Greg as she went to place it on the couch

"What?!"

"Yea, we want you to wear it…" said Sara "all of today, and at any other time during the trip we think you should…or when you lose bets in the future" she added as she and the team laughed and Catherine reluctantly placed the crown on her head.

"And this" came Lindsey's voice from behind her

Turning, Catherine saw her daughter holding a gift in her hand. Once the paper was ripped off, she found a picture frame with several photos the two of them had taken at a photo booth at a mall

"Aw, thanks, Lins" she said bending down to hug and kiss her daughter. Now that her mom was happy and her duty was done, Lindsey practically skipped back to where her friends were as the CSI's kept going with the gifts.

"Gil" said Catherine handing him a thin, long rectangular box

"Ma'am" he replied still mocking her about the crown as he opened it.

"Oh, thank you" he said admiring the framed picture of the whole team with the word 'family' written beneath it. The words Catherine had once spoken to him echoed in his ears '_people are building a family around you whether you like it or not, whether you give them permission or not…_" well, if back then he'd been reluctant, now he was definitely considering giving in to this 'family' idea.

Seeing his thoughts in his eyes, Catherine hugged him and taking her cue, Brass shook his hand, Nick hugged him and thanked him again for saving him, Warrick shook his hand and Sara hugged him. This last hug left him so off balance that he was completely oblivious to the fact that Greg was now hugging him.

After thanking them all again and recollecting his thoughts away from the feeling of Sara against him, he took the gift he was supposed to hand her (definitely Catherine's doing) and handed it to her.

"Oh…" she sighed looking at the bed-time story book and the CD of lullabies "…thanks guys"

"Yea know, we figured our restless CSI girl needed some sleep every now and then" said Nick hugging his friend. Following his lead, Catherine, Warrick, Brass, Greg and finally Grissom hugged her and this time it was she who was thrown from the contact with Grissom. _Why does he make it so difficult?_ She asked herself as she handed Nick whom she considered her best friend his gifts.

These were an A&M football shirt signed by the whole Team with 'Stokes' written on the back and, like the with Brass and Greg, some breath right straps that he didn't understand.

"And, Nicky" said Sam as he turned to face his parents, brother and sisters "we got you some stuff too" she continued handing him two bags. In one, he found a video-phone he had told his sisters he wanted and in the other a large album that, much to his surprise held photos from his birth to one he'd taken with his family and the team as he was discharged from hospital, every photo being surrounded by comments not only from his family, but from the Team and lab-rats too. Now the emotional CSI had tears running down his cheeks as he hugged his family and friends simply happy to be alive to be there with them all.

"Thank you all _so_ much" he said flipping through the pages on the album"I…this is just…it's unbelievable!" he exclaimed noticing a photo of himself on his first horse on his 13th birthday and letting another tear fall.

Once all emotions were under check, Brass sat still contemplating the photo and thinking when he should call, Grissom, Catherine and Warrick were chatting, every now and then throwing in a bow or 'your majesty' and Sara, Nick and Greg were sitting with Sam, Matt and Nick's parents going through the album while his other sisters checked on the kids and Debbie sat in her husbands arms just smiling.

**TBC**

* * *

_I hope y'all enjoyed this, and I look forward to reading your feed back. Thank you all so much for the reviews again, they've been great!_

_Please review!_

CJS-DEPPendant


	13. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N: **__Hey, well I'd just like to apologise right from the start for not updating for so long. _

_I hope you like this chapter, I wasn't too sure about it… Hopefully I'll be able to update more often and move the story along …_

_Please review, I'd really like to know if you're still liking this…_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Now that three hours had gone by, everyone was showered and the kids had been persuaded to put their new toys away, everyone moved towards the dining room where Eleanor had placed the food and, once again, congratulated her on how great everything looked.

"Woa, Mom" said Matt smiling as he filled his plate with food "you've outdone yourself yet again"

"Thank you, son" said a proud Eleanor smiling at everyone's happy (and hungry) faces.

"Hey, Lindsey" called Austin approaching her "you wanna come play?"

"What?" she asked

"This game Megan brought, it's some kind of quiz thing, it's called Buzz…"

"Uh…" she said "yea, sure

Watching the interaction, Nick turned to his friend and said "Hey, Cath, Lindsey seems to be getting along really well with the kids"

"Yea…" said Catherine smiling. Even though she worried about chasing her daughter around while she chased after boys, she was happy to see the teen with a smile on her face.

"Sara? Um, what's with the nose straps you guys got us?" asked Greg making Nick and Brass nod and join them.

"What?" asked Emily who had over heard "those breath right straps? Michael uses those, God he used to snore so much; Sometimes, I even had to move to the guest room!"

"I don't snore!" said Greg while Nick and Brass agreed.

Looking at Sara, Catherine pulled out her cell phone and, after a little searching found what she was looking for "this" she pressed play "is what our corridor sounds like at night".

There was no way they could deny that there was a whole lot of snoring going on.

"How'd you know that was us? It could be Warrick and Griss…" said Nick

"Yea, uh, Gil doesn't snore, I've known him for ages and from all the times he's fallen asleep in cars, or on his couch, I know he doesn't"

While hoping that those were really the only places where the blond had seen Grissom asleep, Sara nodded and smiled while adding "and we know Warrick doesn't snore because it was one of the things Tina said were great about him at that dinner we had"

'_ha, look at her face'_ she thought looking at Catherine '_just the mention of the woman's name and she looks like that, god those two are idiots!_'

* * *

"This is really cool!" said Lindsey who was having a blast playing 'buzz' with her friends.

The game, while being played on the PS2, had different controllers and each player had to answer questions to try and beat out the others. Unfortunately for the others Lindsey was proving to be unbeatable.

"Whatcha doin'" asked Sam walking into the room with the room with a glass in hand.

"Quiz" said Megan while hitting the answer button barely seconds after Lindsey "and we're losing!" she added as Lindsey got the points and her character danced on the podium.

"Well, it's you're own fault!" said Lindsey smiling "if you hadn't picked _Hollywood_ Buzz I wouldn't be winning, but these questions are just too easy!"

"You wanna play?" asked Austin holding out his controller for his aunt

"Uh…sure! Why not?" she replied taking the control and sitting next to her nephew "let's see what you're really made of, Lindsey"

"Ha!" laughed the teen ready for the challenge

* * *

"Hey, mama?" asked Nick placing his plate in the sink next to which his mother was standing, drinking a glass of water.

"Yes?"

"What do y'all have planned for New Year's this year?" he asked as they moved back towards the living room where everyone was chatting as they finished eating.

"Well, since it's the first time you're friends have come down to Texas, we were thinking of a Texas-themed night. Ya know, cowboy clothes, cowgirls outfits, country music, you're favourite chilli for dinner…" said Eleanor knowing that if the idea of a Texan night hadn't caught her son's attention, the thought of her famous chilli would.

"That sounds great!" said Greg who neither Nick nor Mrs. Stokes had noticed was standing right next to them

"I thought so too" said Eleanor smiling at his son's most eccentric friend.

Looking around at his friends where were talking either between themselves or with his siblings and their spouses, Nick couldn't help smiling at the idea of them all dressed for the night. _Cowboy hats, boots..._ he thought picturing what it would look like to see LVPD's finest CSI's in cowboy gear.

"That's actually a really great idea, mom!" he said hugging his mom with one arm.

"Thank you son" she said smiling as he let go and moved towards his friends.

* * *

"You're going down!" said Lindsey as she prepared for her favourite round of the game

"You wish, girl!" replied Sam sitting on the edge of the couch ready to punch the button.

The game had gotten so intense over the last thirty minutes that some of the adults had migrated to the family room and, with Lindsey and Sam holding the remotes, two teams seemed to have formed around them.

In one team James, Emily, Blake, Joe, Katie, Warrick, Catherine and Helen were backing Lindsey up and on the other, helping Sam, were Megan, Austin, Beth, Michael, Debbie, Chris, Greg and Matt.

_Who played Professor Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies?_ Asked the strange cartoon on the TV screen.

The room was immediately filled with shouts of various different names until Helen, who had recently watched the first few movies with her daughter yelled "Richard Harris". Unfortunately for her team, Lindsey was faster with the button and the point went to her team.

As the game progressed, the rest of the inhabitants of the Stokes home migrated to the family room and soon the only two left in the living room were the entomologist, the detective and the judge where were happily chatting away about something no one else seemed to care about.

* * *

"What'd ya two say we go check what's going on?" asked Bill after a while.

* * *

_Which of these famous actresses played the female lead in the 1942 movie, Casa Blanca?_

_Meryl Streep _

_Ingrid Bergman_

_Julia Roberts_

_Julie Andrews_

Just as the room erupted into yells, the three men walked in and, much to everyone's surprise, Gil was heard saying 'Ingrid Bergman'

On a reflex, Lindsey's thumb pushed down on the button and she scored 100 more points.

As everyone else got back to the game, all the CSI's stared at their boss.

"What?" he asked looking confused

"You know something non-science related…" said Greg incredulously before shouting the answer to the newest question at Sam and helping her get the points.

"Yea…" said Gil looking around at his team, not getting the point "so…"

"Nothing…" said Sara shaking her head and smiling to herself _'he looks so good when he's all confused…'_ she thought to herself.

Smiling at her daughter who had just hit the controller on her knee out of frustration, Catherine looked back at her long time friend and said "its just we never picked you for a movie kinda guy…"

Not quite sure what to make of his team's surprise, Gil simply joined the team that was standing behind Lindsey and decided to enjoy the fun.

**TBC**

* * *

_I look forward to reading your reviews, and if I take too long to update again, don't hesitate to tell me! _

_Please review!_

CJS-DEPPendant


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N: **__Yay! I got to update today :D I don't know how long I'll be able to keep this pace up for, but I'll try to make it last :P_

_Hope you enjoy this one, please tell me what you think,_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Half and hour later, everyone seemed to have agreed that there was just no beating Lindsey, especially when she was being backed up by so many movie-loving adults and the teams had dispersed around the house and ranch.

Gathered in the living room, the CSI's were listening to Nick.

"Ok, so I hope y'all enjoyed the lunch" started the Texan as the others nodded and smiled "great. Now, here's the thing. There are a couple things I'd like to do this week, but of course if y'all don't wanna, it's fine"

"How can we know if we _wanna_ if you won't tell us what the options are?" asked Catherine emphasising how Nick's accent had become more and more evident over the last few days

"Ok…" he said smiling at her "well, I thought today we could each just do whatever we wanted, there really isn't anything prepared for the afternoon, dinner is at the same time as usual and 'till then y'all can just do whatever you want… tomorrow we could relax here and then go out at night, there's this club I used to go to in college, I'm sure y'all will love it… then on the 27th, we could try to go riding again and hopefully we can be on the other side of the ranch for the sunset, ya know, if none of us will decide to interfere with wasp nests on the way…"

"Hey! I didn't interfere with anything" protested Sara

"Course you didn't, you just figured placing your hand right on the opening of the nest was a great idea…" mocked Greg

Before Sara could protest some more, Nick, laughing along with the rest of the team continued "Anyway, that'd be on the 27th… 28th we could all just stay here and do whatever you want, 29th I'll take y'all into town because you need to buy a couple things…"

"Buy?" asked Greg looking confused

"Couple things?" asked Catherine

"Uh, yea … see the plan was that on the 30th we'd, if you like the club, go there again and then on the 31st is the new years party and…uh…it's themed"

"Ah…" said Greg

"Ah?" asked Sara

"Yea…it's uh, Texas themed, everyone has to dress up, nothing fancy, just to fit in ya know…it'll be fun"

"Um, Nick…I'm a cop from Jersey…can you see me in cowboy get up?" asked Brass looking very sceptical

"Oh, come on" said Catherine "it sounds like a great idea" '_Yea, and a great chance to see Mr. Brown in some cowboy get up_' she thought to herself.

"Actually, it does sound like fun" agreed Sara

And, to everyone's surprise, even Grissom seemed to be into the idea; that is, until Catherine reminded him that he too would have to dress up.

"Uh…I don't…" he began

"Come on Gil, it'll be fun…" said Catherine and, when he didn't look convinced, she put on the crown she'd been carrying around and said "…thou shalt participate, and thou shalt have fun" she said in as Shakespearean a tone as she could muster eliciting several laughs from the team.

Playing along with the fun, Grissom bowed and said "if that is your majesty's wish…"

"So…" said Nick when everyone had settled down "how does all that sound? Y'all in for new year's?"

"Sounds great" said Greg who was looking forwards to all the free time in which he could go ride.

As everyone even Brass agreed, they turned towards Grissom who, still reluctant to get dressed up nodded getting several cheers from his co-workers.

"Ok so…when does the whole, do whatever you want part start?" asked Brass who, not a fan of waking up early, wanted to catch some shut eye before dinner

"Uh…now…" said Nick and soon, one by one, the team members moved in their different directions.

* * *

"Oh, hi" said Greg walking into the barn and spotting Sam brushing her horse Lightning Bolt.

"Hey" she replied

"So, that's a beautiful horse you have there" said Greg

Smiling at the quirky guys' attempt at making conversation she said "yea, his name's lightening bolt…"

"He reminds me of the horse my best friend had…" he said stroking the black horse's mane.

"You're best friend had a horse?"

"Yea, her name was, uh, well, it was Princess" he said laughing slightly "she was five…"

"The horse?" asked Sam smiling

Laughing, Greg replied "No, Grace, my friend…"

"Oh, uh, isn't five a little young?"

"Yea I know…I didn't get Sputnik until I was 12"

Trying hard not to smile, Sam asked "Sputnik?"

"Yea" said Greg with an awkward smile "I uh, I guess I was always a geek…"

"Well, if it's any consolation, you don't look like a geek" she said

Not sure what to make of that, Greg looked at her questioningly.

"Nah…" she said smiling "you look more like a mad scientist…" she added making them both laugh.

* * *

Meanwhile, Brass was sitting on his bed looking at the photo of his daughter and the phone number Gil had gotten him.

_It is Christmas_ he thought

* * *

"Oh, come on!" said Blake when Nick's phone went off again

"Sorry…" he said stepping away to check his messages.

"That's the what? Hundredth time since we arrived?" Blake asked his wife

Smiling at her baby brother Beth replied "oh, come on, look at him, he's falling…"

"Sorry 'bout that" said Nick returning with a huge grin on his face

"So…" said Catherine coming up from behind him "…is uh…your 'mystery' lady having a nice day?"

"Y…" began the CSI but caught himself in time "Who?"

Simply grinning at her friend, Catherine patted his shoulder and moved on to where Sara, Grissom and Warrick were talking.

"So, cowboy gear, huh?" asked Warrick smiling slightly at the thought of his favourite blond as a cowgirl … not that she needed a lasso to reel _him_ in

"Yea..." smiled Sara

Sighing, Gil couldn't help but think that giving in to the idea of a family was going to be more work than he'd thought … _But Sara in cowboy boots and …_ his thoughts trailed off as he thought that maybe all the hard work would be worth it.

"What are we talking about here?" asked Catherine joining the group

A smile creeping on his face, Warrick replied "the party…the dressing up…"

"Ah…" she said smiling back but trying not to look him directly in the eyes.

Noticing the exchange Sara looked to Grissom wondering if he'd seen it too. Of course all she saw was the boss lost in thought; his eyes focused somewhere over Warrick's shoulder.

"Gil?" asked Catherine waving a hand in front of his face

"Huh?" he asked being pulled out of his thoughts

"Where'd you just go?" asked Warrick smiling

"Oh uh…" started Gil trying his very best not to look at the brunet next to him "nowhere… I'm just … tired…"

With that, he left and the three remaining CSI's could help but notice that even though Grissom seemed to, gradually, be leaving his shell, there was a part of him that was still well hidden.

* * *

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading, I really appreciate your feedback and thanks to all those who have reviewed. Oh, and if anyone is getting confused about all the characters in Nick's family ('coz even I'm lose track of whose who sometimes) just tell me and I'll post some kind of family-tree…_

* * *

_Please review!_

CJS-DEPPendant


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine …

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Woohoo! I'm on a roll here! Hopefuly I'll be able to keep this up! Oh, and I posted the family tree at the end of the chapter, so I hope it makes things clearer._

_Please let me know what you think,_

_Enjoy!_The rest of Christmas day went by calmly. Casual conversations were going on around the living room, the kids were, as usual, split into three groups each doing something different while little Connor, still quite unaware of what was going on, crawled around the family room playing with his toys and trying to take his cousins'.

* * *

As the 26th December creped into existence, a thin strip of light shining through the window woke Catherine.

Checking the time, the blond CSI passed a hand through her hair and got up.

* * *

"Greg!" she said knocking on the bathroom door "come on, Greg!"

Much to her surprise when the door opened, it wasn't Greg who was standing in front of her, but rather a shirtless Warrick.

_Hmm…_ she thought.

Chuckling lightly, the green-eyed CSI had to comment "ya know, considering almost everyone else has been caught in embarrassing situations…we should have seen this coming…"

Laughing, Catherine nodded _Oh yea…embarrassing might be understating it…_

"So…uh…you done…there?" she asked pointing into the bathroom

"Oh, yea…sure, go ahead" he replied stepping aside.

Once the door was closed he took a deep breath thinking '_I really have to do _something_!'__Cold_ …

* * *

_What the … _

_Huh?_

Were the thoughts in Sara's head when she woke up 30 minutes later.

_Oh_…

She finally realized just why she was so cold.

_Damn you, Greg!_

After all, if Greg hadn't rendered her pyjamas useless, she wouldn't have had to borrow one of Nick's old T-Shirts and she wouldn't be freezing to death.

Sighing, she made sure she put some jeans on before leaving the room.

* * *

Excluding Warrick and Catherine's brief meeting in the bathroom, the morning went on without any incidents. Apparently Sara hadn't been the only one to think of putting something normal on before leaving her room: Greg too had only left the room once he had some trousers on, and Grissom had actually woken before anyone else and so they only found him once they descended for breakfast, already fully clothed.

"Morning" they all said greeting their boss, Mrs. Stokes, Sam, Michael, Matt and Emily who were sitting at the kitchen table enjoying some breakfast.

"Good morning" they replied in turn looking up and smiling at the team.

"So, what are you guys doing today?" asked Sam looking at her piece of toast

"We don't really have anything planned" said Nick removing his sister's Nikon from the stool next to her so as to take a seat "you guys have anything you want to do?"

They all shrugged.

* * *

After breakfast the team found that most of Nick's siblings had left for the day, some to visit their spouses' relatives, others just to enjoy some time without their kids who were staying at the ranch with their grandparents.

The CSI's too ended up going their separate ways. By 12:00, Sara was sitting in the living room reading a crime novel she'd bought at the airport, Grissom was out on the porch scribbling some notes off an entomology textbook, Jim was chatting to Nick, Warrick and Bill while watching TV, Lindsey joined the other three teens in the family room, Greg, as expected, went off to the barn and Catherine was chatting to Sam.

"Uh…" said Warrick as his phone went off "…excuse me"

Receiving nods from the other three men, Warrick made his way outside, past Grissom and into the large front yard of the house where he finally answered the phone.

"Hi" he said rather unenthusiastically into the phone

"_Don't sound so happy…_" came his wife's voice from the other end

_I'm not…_ "sorry, I'm just tired"

"_I missed you yesterday, I thought you'd call…"_

"Uh…yea, sorry about that, we just had so much going on, it completely slipped my mind…" as soon as he said it he realised he shouldn't have

"_Slipped your mind huh? It's our first Christmas together and you go off to _Texas_ with you're friends …_"

Pulling the phone away from his ear, Warrick closed his eyes and sighed.

* * *

"So, you take that everywhere you go?" asked Catherine referring to Sam's camera

Smiling down at the object, she replied "pretty much, you never know when a photo-worthy moment will happed…"

"That's true" smiled the blond while looking around the room

Sighing and smiling, Sam said "he went outside about ten minutes ago…"

Shocked and a little freaked that Sam seemed to have answered the question she was thinking of, Catherine had to ask "who?"

"Warrick" said she replied very matter of fact-ly

"Uh…"

Merely smiling at the older woman, Sam excused herself and once again migrated into the family room where the kids were making a lot of noise, leaving Catherine staring after her.

It wasn't until five minutes later, after a brief pause to check what Sara was reading, that Catherine moved to the outside of the house under the pretext of checking on Grissom.

* * *

Once outside, she said a quick 'hi' to Grissom who merely nodded in response and moved down the steps to the yard. Not spotting Warrick, she figured he must have walked off.

"What do you mean I don't…" she heard Warrick's angry voice trail off from somewhere to her right.

Following the man's voice, she moved around the house into the back yard where she spotted Warrick facing away from her, his cell phone firmly held to his ear as he heard whoever was on the other side talk.

"Listen, we talked about this!" she heard him say "It's not like I didn't tell you!"

After a few more moments Warrick seemed to lose his patience and, holding his phone closer to his ear said "you know what? Just forget it! We'll talk about it when I get back!" and with that he shut his phone.

When the CSI made no move to leave but merely stared at his phone, Catherine walked forwards and startled him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey… what's up?" she asked

"Freakin' Tina! That's what's up!" he replied "sorry…" he added realising he was still shouting.

"You wanna talk about it?" asked Catherine looking up at him

Warrick took a few deep breaths and shook his head.

Not wanting to force the situation, Catherine nodded and, after telling him that she was there for him if he needed her, started to head off.

"I made a mistake" he said as she walked away making her turn around and look at him "Tina, marrying, it was all a mistake. God…" he sighed bringing his hands to his face

"Hey…" said Catherine moving towards him again, a concerned look on her face

_She has no idea_ he thought looking down into her blue eyes "I…I was scared that something like what happened to Nicky would happen to me…I wasn't thinking straight…If I could take it back…"

"Warrick…" she said "…you're upset…you don't…"

"No! Don't tell me that I don't mean it, because I do! And…" he cut the sentence short

"And what?" she asked

_Don't do it…_ thought Warrick, but just as he did he leaned forwards and brought his lips to hers.

It had all happened very quickly, one minute they'd been talking, the next they were kissing. Catherine wasn't quite sure what to do, but she was pretty sure that carrying on wasn't a good idea.

"Rick…" she whispered pulling away "I … you …"

Already upset from his confrontation with Tina and not wanting to fight with Catherine, he merely shook his head and, walking past her, headed back inside.

After a few seconds, Catherine sighed and followed.

**TBC**_Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! _

* * *

_Since several readers asked for it, here's the family tree…I hope it helps clear some things up:_

Bill Stokes – Nick's Father, Judge, 66

Eleanor Stokes – Nick's Mother, Lawyer, 64

Elizabeth (Beth) – Nick's oldest Sister, Lawyer, 44

Blake – Beth's husband, Doctor, 46

Megan, 13

Sean, 10

Eric, 9

Tom, 9

Emily – Nick's sister, Architect, 42

Michael – Emily's Husband, Dentist, 41

James, 14

Karen, 9

Rose, 4

Katie – Nick's Sister (Debbie's Twin), Doctor, 40

Joe – Katie's husband, Cop, 42

Austin, 13

Bill, 11

Debbie – Nick's Sister (Katie's Twin), Lawyer, 40

Christopher – Debbie's husband, Engineer, 39

Samantha (Sam) – Nick's youngest sister, Photographer, 37

Matthew (Matt) – Nick's Brother, Business man, 36

Helen – Matt's wife, Secretary, 31

Martha, 6

Connor, 2

And, just for extra info:

Gil Grissom – 49

Sara Sidle - 34

Catherine Willows – 42

Warrick Brown – 35

Nick Stokes - 34

Greg Sanders – 30

Jim Brass – 52

Lindsey Willows – 13

_Thanks again for reading, please let me know what you think,_

CJS-DEPPendant


	16. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Hey! Sorry for the late update but exam-season just started. a_

_**Spoilers**__: If you haven't watched the season 8 finale, I suggest you don't read the A/N at the end…it may give something away…_

_I hope you're still enjoying this and please let me know what you think,_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Watching first Warrick then Catherine rush past him, Gil, who most would say was blind when it came to emotions, began to realise what was going on. It seemed really sad to him that he hadn't yet had the courage to make a move on the woman he'd loved for years when the married ex-player was taking his chances.

Turning to look through the door at what was going on, the boss couldn't help but spot Sara, sitting peacefully on the couch, her iPod plugged in and a book resting on her knees. Shaking his head and sighing heavily, he turned back to his notes, knowing perfectly well that he wouldn't be able to regain his concentration.

* * *

Lost in her book, Sara barely registered her two colleagues rushing past and, one after the other, climbing the stairs.

The song she was listening to and the issues floating in her head kept her thoughts focused elsewhere.

"_I've been watching your world from afar,  
I've been trying to be where you are,  
And I've been secretly falling apart,  
I'll see.  
To me, you're strange and you're beautiful,  
You'd be so perfect with me but you just can't see…_"

As the lyrics reached her ears, Sara's eyes drifted towards the door through which she could see Grissom mindlessly scribbling away, not knowing that mere seconds earlier, he had been looking at her.

* * *

"Warrick!" called Catherine as she heard the door to his, Nick and Greg's room close "Rick! Come on!"

When he didn't answer, she knocked "Warrick…" her voice was softer now "…come on, let's talk…"

Again she obtained no answer. Not wanting to upset Warrick further and not knowing what to do, Catherine sighed frustrated and, head down, moved into hers and Sara's room where she too closed the door before slumping onto the bed, her head in her hands

* * *

An hour had now gone by and people began to get hungry. Wanting to give his mother a break, Nick volunteered to cook and was now busy in the kitchen. Brass and Bill were still entertained in the living room watching TV and chatting, Grissom had, as he'd expected, not been able to concentrate and moved into the living room where he was having trouble focusing on what was going on on the TV. Sara was, as before, sitting on the couch, her knees brought up to her chest, still listening to music and pretending to read while her mind wondered into thoughts of the blue-eyed man in front of her.

Smiling, Nick emerged from the kitchen and announced "lunch is served!"

Smiles on their faces, the people in the living room all got up and walked into the kitchen while Nick went to call the kids and his sister who were in the family room.

* * *

"Anyone seen Cath and Rick?" asked Nick serving himself

"I saw them go upstairs a while ago" said Grissom taking a step to his side when he realised he was shoulder to shoulder with Sara.

"should we go call them?" asked Nick looking at Greg

Sighing, the young CSI spoke "fine…I'll go…"

As the spiky-haired geek left, the other CSI's dug into their plates, Nick taking a seat next to his smiling sister and her camera, Grissom moving around the table to avoid sitting by Sara and Brass sitting next to his friend, mentally shaking his head at the tension he was feeling in the room.

* * *

A knocking on the door brought Catherine out of her thoughts.

"Yea?"

"Hey, Cath. You ok?" asked Greg when he realised his friend was sitting in the dark

"Yea, I'm fine thanks…"

Not completely convinced, Greg decided to let it go "ok, well, lunch is served, so…"

"I'll be right there, thanks"

Once Greg was gone, Catherine sighed heavily, put the shoes she'd kicked off back on and headed out into the corridor.

* * *

"I'll be right there, thanks man" came Warrick's voice as Catherine passed by his open door where Greg was standing.

For what was probably just a fraction of a second, Catherine and Warrick's eyes met and, like love-struck teenagers, they immediately looked the other way as Catherine continued on her way and Warrick swung his legs from the bed onto the floor and, making sure she was a bit in front of him, followed Greg downstairs.

* * *

"This is really good, Nicky" said Sam trying desperately to break the silence.

There were a series of agreeing 'hums' and nods but no more.

Looking around at the group where two CSI's were intent on avoiding each other, two were sitting as far apart as could be accepted without too many questions being asked, one was completely focused on his food, and the other too were unsure as to what to say or who to speak to, Sam tried again "so what are y'all doing tonight?"

"Go'n awt" said an enthusiastic Greg with his mouth full making Sam smile

"Where too?" she asked her brother who was also smiling at his friend's enthusiasm

"Spurs"

"Ah…always a good choice" she said remembering all the good times she'd spent there as a teenager and even, later, as an adult.

"You wanna come?" asked Greg who had now finally managed swallow his food

"Seriously?" asked Sam looking at her brother "as that ok?"

"'Course it is!" he said smiling "the more the merrier!"

"In that case, sure" she replied smiling at Greg who was once again taking food to his mouth.

* * *

The rest of lunch was spent in relative silence. Finally, having eaten everything and not wanting to take it all any longer, Warrick excused himself and went out to the yard. Catherine followed and, after checking on Lindsey who, as usual, was having fun with Megan, James and Austin, went to her room again. Sara assumed her place on the couch again, intent on finishing her book, Nick shared a knowing, confused look with his sister and moved to the family room to check on his nieces and nephews, Brass and Grissom joined Bill back in the living room and Greg followed Nick and, later, Sam and joined the kids in their latest game.

**TBC**

* * *

Well, there it is! Thanks for reading.

I know some of you will probably say that, once again, there seems to be more Yo!Bling than GSR in this, but I hope you can see that I tried to work some more into it... It's just with what happened to Warrick in the season finale, my mind was slightly focused on him…

Anyways, the next chapter will probably (if I don't come up with something in between) be them at the club…and you know anything can happen there… ;)

Please review and let me know what you think,

CJS-DEPPendant


	17. Chapter 17

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Thank you so much to all those who have reviewed, they really keep me going. I also know that there are some of you who are reading and not reviewing, and I appreciate you reading and hope to hear from you some time in the future. _

_I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again since, as I explained in the A/N of chapter 16, I'm currently suffering through exams... but I promise to try and get the next chapter to you as soon as possible._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

By six thirty, the CSI's started to make their way to their rooms to get ready for their night out.

Abiding by the unspoken rule there seemed to be, the five men allowed the two ladies to have their turns in the bathroom first.

"No, seriously! How long can it take to _apply some make up_?" Greg asked Nick while facing the door behind which Catherine was getting ready.

"_You should talk, Greg!"_ came Catherine's voice from within.

"She has a point, man" said Nick smiling as the door knob turned and Catherine walked out.

Sure, it wasn't the first time wither of them had seen Catherine dressed up, but this was different, they weren't sure why, but she was just more stunning than usual.

"Ok, happy?" she asked stepping out

"Very" grinned Greg slipping into the bathroom before Nick could argue that it was his turn.

* * *

"You ready?" Sara asked Catherine as the blond entered the room

"I am…but you're not…" she said looking at a confused Sara

Looking down herself, Sara looked back at Catherine "I am…"

"Uh huh!" she said shaking her head "How're you gonna get his attention dressed like _that_?"

"Whose attention?!"

"Oh, come on…" said Catherine turning to rummage in her bags.

Unsure of what exactly was wrong with the jeans and t-shirt she was wearing, Sara waited, slightly worried, for what Catherine was looking for to emerge.

"Aha!"

* * *

It was seven thirty when the CSI's finally started to leave their rooms. The plan was to meet downstairs, get a couple of taxis, have dinner in town and then party 'till late.

One by one the CSI's descended in their 'going-out' wear – something the others all found very interesting.

Greg had, as usual, about a whole bottle of gel in his hair, a tight-ish blue t-shirt which read 'the man (upwards arrow), the legend (downwards arrow)', worn out jeans and 'vans'. Nick wore a, again, tight-ish shirt and nicely fitting jeans, Warrick had on a green shirt that did nothing to hide his muscular chest and worn-out jeans. Grissom was in a black shirt with dark jeans and Brass was wearing a plane white shirt and slacks.

As for the girls, Catherine, as Nick and Greg had attested, looked amazing in a multi-coloured, _low_ cut top that tied around her neck, a skirt short enough to interest but not so short it looked slutty and perfect make up. Sara's appearance, however, took everyone by surprise, particularly Grissom. Since no one had ever really seen her in this context before, it was a total shock to see Sara Sidle in tight fitting jeans, heals and a tight, black top that finally showed off the body many of them had suspected she was hiding.

"Wow, Sar!" said Nick smiling at her while taking her hand and spinning her "you look great!"

While the other guys nodded in agreement, Catherine noticed Grissom seemed unable to do anything but nod/shake his head and smiled to herself.

* * *

The cabs were divided four : three with Gil taking the front seat of one and Greg, Jim and Sara taking the back and Nick taking the front seat of the other with, much to their annoyance, Warrick and Catherine in the back.

'_What the hell is goin' on?_' thought Nick as he looked through the rear-view mirror and saw that his two friends were sitting as far apart as they possibly could without actually falling out the doors.

* * *

Like Nick, Grissom was looking through the rear-view mirror. But what he found sitting in the back seat wasn't so much confusing as it was beautiful. He'd always thought Sara was a beautiful woman, but this was…

'_wow! I…_' he thought noting how, if his mind couldn't find words to describe her splendour, it was very unlikely that he would be able to speak any kind of compliment to the woman he was looking at.

* * *

"That was a total rip off!" said Greg as the taxis drove off "that was a real quick ride and we have to pay 7 bucks?!"

"Greg, it wasn't _that_ short of a ride…" said Nick

"It is if you spend the whole time looking at Sara" said Jim with a teasing smile at Greg

"I didn't!" said Greg looking at Sara and shaking his head

While Sara blushed, Nick patted him on the back and said "hey, man. No one's blaming you!"

Getting compliments from guys was all new to Sara but what really shocked her was seeing, over Greg's shoulder, Grissom nodding his head at what Nick said, that little gesture had just made her night.

* * *

The restaurant Nick had picked wasn't much, but it was definitely better than the diner the CSI's usually hung out at after shift.

"Hey, can I help ya?" asked the bubbly blond who was at the counter

"Uh, yea…uh…table for 7" said Warrick who was closest

"Uh, actually, make that eight" said Nick "my sister said she may be joining us" he added as an explanation to the team.

Taking a few menus, the waitress led them to their table and said "well, my name is Abby and I'll be you're waitress tonight"

Once she was gone, the team settled into the table, Warrick next to Grissom next to Sara who was next to Nick and Jim in front of Warrick, next to Catherine who was next to Greg.

When they ordered their drinks, Abby brought them some bread to keep them going until the food was ready and, with a flirty smile at Greg left again.

Apparently the CSI team had a tendency for awquard moments not only when waking up but also when sitting round a table. Nick was starting to find the times Warrick and/or Catherine reached for the bread and then quickly withdrew their hand because the other was there absolutely hilarious, if rather disturbing, and Jim couldn't help pointing out to Catherine how stiff Gil seemed in his seat while trying not to touch Sara who was to his left.

Just as their food arrived (stakes for everyone except Sara who settled for a chicken-less Cesar salad) Sam walked through the door. Ignoring Abby at the door who was asking if she could help her, Sam walked right into the room and took the free space in front of Nick and next to Greg.

"Heya y'all" she greeted as she took a seat "how's it goin'"

As conversations progressed, Warrick reached behind Grissom and Sara and poked Nick to look at him.

"What?" Nick mouthed/whispered

"Looks like Greggo's got an eye on your sister!" he whispered back while Sara, who couldn't help but hear the less than subtle conversation, laughed and subsequently choked on her salad.

"You ok?!" asked Grissom looking at her worriedly as she managed to swallow the offending leaves and laughed

"Yea…yea, I'm fine" she said still laughing at Nick who was shaking his head at Warrick.

"What's so funny?" asked Greg looking up from his conversation with Sam.

"Nothing" Nick quickly replied only making Sara, and now Warrick, laugh harder.

The rest of dinner went by with little more incidents and at about 10:30 the CSI's and Sam paid the check and found themselves walking to 'the Spur'.

* * *

For people who lived in Vegas, the club wasn't much, but it was still pretty lively. Especially for 10:30 pm.

"You guys go get a table" said Nick "I'm gonna go see whose at the bar"

* * *

As the team found a round table in the corner, Nick spotted his good friend Jake who had been working at 'The Spur' since their college days.

"How's it goin' man?" he asked clapping Nick's hand over the bar

"Great! I'm here with some friends…"

"Ah, not to worry, VIP treatment all around!" replied Jake with a smile as Nick thanked him and walked to the table where his friends had settled.

* * *

"Who is it?" asked Sam smiling up at her little brother

"Jake" he smiled

"Awesome!"

"Can I get ya some drinks?" asked Jake who had just materialized next to Nick

"Cutty Sark" said Jim

"American Beauty" said Warrick looking quickly at Catherine and, when she met his eyes, looking away.

"Screwdriver" she said smiling at Nick's good looking friend

"Same" said Nick

"Tequila shot" said Sam

"Hi Sam" smiled Jake noting what she'd said on the paper

"Hi!" she replied "Do one with me, Greg!" she said grabbing Greg's arm and smiling

"Uh…ok, sure…make that two" he replied

"I'll have a sex on the beach" said Sara making Gil look up

"Uh…and…uh…I'll have a Glenfiddich, simple" said Gil who apparently had a particularly good taste in old whiskies.

"Coming right up!" said Jake as he walked away

"You wanna dance, Sara?" asked Catherine getting up

"Uh…I don't really…" but she was cut off

"Oh, come on!" said Sam squeezing past Greg to join Catherine "it'll be fun"

Sighing, Sara chose to follow the girls rather than stay with the boys as she would usually have done.

'_Now this is definitely more than I can handle'_ thought Grissom watching as Sara danced in a sort of triangle with Sam and Catherine. Sure she didn't seem all that comfortable, but she was still pretty good at it and Gil couldn't help but notice a couple of cowboys looking her way.

"Here ya go…" said Jake coming over with a tray full of drinks and placing them on the table.

"Thanks" said Nick clapping him on the shoulder with one hand while taking the 'Sex on the beach' and a 'screwdriver' off the table "now, if you'll excuse me, I've got three lovely ladies to dance with"

* * *

"Oh, thanks!" said Sara when she saw Nick approach with her drink in one hand

"You're welcome" and, turning to Catherine he bowed slightly and handed her her drink saying "milady…"

"Ha ha!" she said taking a sip "lets see if you're that funny out here…" she said taking a few steps towards the centre of the dance floor.

Nick knew he should know better than to try and match dancing skills with and ex-stripper, but he was there to have fun, so he followed her.

_Don't go… __You want to… __She obviously doesn't… __But maybe she does… you never gave her a chance to…_

* * *

Go…

"Hey, 'Rick you not going out there?" asked Brass bringing the CSI out of his thoughts.

"Uh… maybe later…" he said taking a sip of his drink and looking towards the dance floor.

"Oh, great! You waited for me" said Sam taking her shot glass in one hand while Greg followed. Once the salt was licked, the lemon bit and the shot downed, she grabbed Greg's hand and pulled him towards the dance floor.

* * *

Seeing the two approaching people, Sara leaned in to Nick who had just pulled her towards the centre of the dance floor where he had given up trying to show Catherine up, and said "I guess Warrick was wrong…it's not Greg who has his eye on you're sister…it's your sister who has her eye on Greggo…"

"Oh, no! Don't even…" said Nick looking over at where the two were dancing some kind of weird dance that didn't really fit the music but definitely fitted the two quirky people.

* * *

As the night progressed, Warrick's inner battle continued.

_Come on…_

_You know you want to…_

_But…_

_What?!_

Well, if he'd been having trouble getting up before, seeing some cowboy approach Catherine, wrap his arm around her middle and start dancing with her was definitely all the incentive he needed. Downing the rest of his second drink, he got up and, in a few strides was pushing past people on the dance floor to get to _his_ blond.

'_Please come and get me…'_ thought Catherine who, while not being averse to the tanned cowboy dancing behind her, would much rather feel Warrick's strong arms on her than Tex's.

Not saying anything, Warrick simply walked up to Catherine and, standing in front of her gave the man behind her a look that could probably kill. Looking down at Catherine and then back up at the green eyed man, the Texan held up his hands and stepped back. Smiling down at Catherine, Warrick wasn't sure what he should say. Understanding this, Catherine simply stepped closet to him, letting him know he was on the right track and, slowly, step by step, the two began to dance, ironically, to the Pussy Cat Dolls' "Don't cha"

* * *

Back at the table, Gil and Brass were the only two left.

Looking around at all the young men and women, most around his daughter's age, Brass felt an overwhelming need to use that phone number Gil had given him and, excusing himself, left the table to find somewhere quieter.

_This is really pathetic…_ thought Gil drinking a sip of his second Whisky. It was now half past midnight and, while watching people in a club was a great anthropological experience, sitting alone in the corner booth didn't get him any closer to that which he finally admitted he wanted.

* * *

"Cath…" Warrick whispered in her ear as they danced.

"Hm…" she hummed suddenly being pulled from her thoughts

"I'm…uh…I'm sorry about yesterday…I uh…I shouldn't have…" but he was cut off by her finger on his lips

"Shh…" she shushed hoping the look in her eyes would tell him she didn't regret it.

**TBC**

* * *

I hope this chapter satisfies a bit more of your GSR needs, I know it's not FULL yet, but I'm trying to add a little more each time… please bare with me …

Please tell me what you think, and thank you for reading,

CJS-DEPPendant


	18. Chapter 18

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N:**__ Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, and thanks for bearing with me this last month. I know I haven't updated in ages, but hopefully since my holidays start at the end of next week, I'll be able to get more done. _

_Thanks again and I hope you review._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Sara, who had recently been 'ditched' by Nick looked around the dance floor and couldn't help sighing. Sure, she had plenty of guys trying to make their way to her and she had already felt several hands on her, but, while she admitted it felt great to have guys want her, she didn't want any of them. Even when she'd been dancing with Nick, her eyes had kept wondering to her boss who was now sitting, alone, at the booth, his third whisky almost empty.

* * *

"Cath…" whispered Warrick again into her ear as he held her closer to him, their bodies moving together to the music. They had been dancing for about two hours.

"Yea?" she whispered back, her mouth dangerously close to his ear

"I…uh…I really…uh…" before Warrick could say anything else, he felt Catherine's lips touch his neck right where it met his ear and he lost all power of speech.

* * *

"Greg?" asked Sam once she and Greg had made their way to a wall where they could rest

"Yea?"

"You have a girlfriend?" she asked as casually as if she were asking him the time

"Uh…I…no?" he said slightly confused

Smiling, Sam muttered something that Greg could have sworn was "good…"

* * *

"You're _still_ here?" asked Brass returning to the table, placing his cell phone back in his pocket

"Where else would I have gone?" asked Gil looking up at his friend "where were _you_?"

"I…uh…I went to call…uh…Ellie…you know…uh…" not wanting to continue the conversation, Brass quickly changed the subject "but that's not the point. The point is, Gil, is that I'm your friend. And as your friend, I'm telling you to get off your freakin' ass and do something. Look out there…" he added motioning to the mass of dancing people as Grissom's eyes followed "those guys aren't asking her about the weather!"

"Jim…you know I…" but he was cut off by Brass

"Yea, I know you love her! So go do something about it! For _all_ our sakes!"

"That wasn't what I was going to say…"

"I know… you were going to say that it's complicated and difficult because of all the circumstances…Jesus, Gil! You've been telling yourself that for over five years and it hasn't done anything to ease the way you feel has it?"

Grissom merely swirled his glass and shook his head before asking "where the hell is this all coming from, Jim? You've never said this before!"

"I just talked to Ellie, Gil! I just did what I was afraid of and called her, I've spent years fearing what I'd hear and find out if I talked to her, but I still did it and I don't regret it, so I'm using my experience to tell you to do something! Come on!"

"…I…" but Grissom was once again interrupted, this time by the subject of the conversation who had just managed to get away from the mob of people she'd been enveloped in.

Exhaling, Sara dropped into the seat across from Brass and called the waiter to the table

"Tired, Sar?" asked Brass smiling

She merely nodded and then groaned as her eyes spotted a guy emerging from the dance floor.

"There you are!" said the tall blond-ish guy in a slightly slurred manner

With a fake smile, Sara sat up a little straighter, fully aware of Brass and, worse, Grissom's eyes on her "yea…"

"You tired? I don't mind if we just sit for a while…"

"Uh…what's your name?" she asked

"Spencer…so, what'd you say?"

"I uh…you seem really nice and all, but I'm _really_ not interested…" she said glancing at the other two guys at the table for help

"Oh, come one…you don't have to play hard to get…"

"I'm not…" Sara began but never got to finish her sentence since, as Spencer's hand touched her face in a supposedly suggestive manner, Grissom stood, pushing his chair back and made his way around the table to face the younger and much larger man.

"I think she said she wasn't interested…" he said his voice strangely calm

"I think she can speak for herself, pops" replied the guy turning back to a very confused Sara "so, darling, what do you say? I have my truck out back…"

_Oh, no you don't…_ thought Grissom as the guy once again touched Sara making her look even more uneasy.

In a very uncharacteristic display of macho-ness, Grissom grabbed Spencer's arm and pulled it away from Sara's face.

"She. Said. 'No'!" he spoke calmly but firmly

"Who the hell are you?" asked Spencer pulling his hand out of the entomologist's grasp

"Griss, really it's fin…" began Sara but was interrupted.

"Who am I?" asked Grissom taking a step towards the guy making Brass stand up feeling slightly worried about where the conversation was going. "That is really none of your business… what is of your business, however, is what I'll do to you if you don't go now…" again he spoke calmly, but, as close as he was to Spencer's face, the words came out as an obvious threat

"Seriously?" the younger man laughed "Are you threatening me?"

"Do you want to hang around and find out?" came a voiced from behind him

"Wha…?" started Spencer as he turned to find that, all of a sudden, he was surrounded by angry looking people.

Right behind him was Nick looking very angry, his arms folded across his chest. Next to him was Warrick, Catherine standing very close behind, his face too was un-amused.

"I think you have something to say to the lady…" said Greg who, with Sam at his heels, had just joined the group

Still finding the whole situation highly amusing, Spencer turned back to Sara "wow…how many men _have_ you got, kitty?"

Not liking what he was implying, Sara stood and slapped him across the face.

"Woh ho… feisty are we?" grinned Spencer taking hold of Sara's wrist and pulling her closer to him "I like that"

No sooner had he finished his sentence than Grissom's fist connected with the side of his skull. Confused, the young Texan fell stumbled back holding the place of impact with both hands.

"You really shouldn't have done that…" he said to Grissom once he had regained his balance.

Just as he lunged for the CSI, Brass stepped forwards, his badge in hand and the guy stopped. Sure, he wasn't anywhere near his jurisdiction, but the drunken idiot before him didn't know that "I wouldn't…" he said, a sarcastic smile playing across his face.

Apparently that was enough to get rid of him and, with a last wink at a very confused looking Sara, he left and an awkward silence settled amongst the group.

"Yea…so…" said Sam a few seconds later trying to break the silence "it's uh…getting late?" she suggested looking at Greg for help

"Yea…I guess we should head back…everyone else will be asleep by now anyways, so…"

Nodding, Nick, Warrick, Catherine and Brass picked up their belongings. While they were doing the same, Sara and Grissom were both very obviously deep in thought and remained silent. As the group exited the bar to find some cabs, the two remained that way, keeping strangely far apart considering what Grissom had just done and demonstrated.

**TBC**

* * *

I hope you liked that, I think it's obvious that the GSR-ness of the story is beginning.

Please tell me what you think, and thank you for reading,

CJS-DEPPendant


	19. Chapter 19

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are all property of Jerry Bruckheimer … but oh, the fun I'd have if they were mine … _

_**A/N: **__Again sorry for the long wait, I've just been busy preparing for a conference I'm going to be attending in DC and NY next week (GYLC if any of you know what it is) and haven't had much time to do anything else…  
Thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter and I'm sorry I didn't get round to replying, but, as I said, I just didn't have the time…_

_Enjoy!_As soon as they arrived at the ranch, Gil bid everyone a quick and quiet goodbye and headed for his room. Sighing, Brass decided to go after his friend; her head still spinning, Sara nodded to everyone and also went to bed leaving Warrick, Catherine, Sam, Greg and Nick standing in the living room.

* * *

"So…" began Nick looking at his sister "we should probably be heading up to bed too…"

Understanding perfectly well what her brother was on about but not minimally affected by it, Sam merely smiled and said "nah, I think I'm gonna hang around here a little longer…"

"Ok…" said Nick "what about you two?" he asked Greg and Warrick

"I'm going to hang for a bit too…" said Greg feeling a bit uneasy at the look he got from Nick

"And…uh…I'm just gonna…" began Warrick

"We're gonna check on Lindsay" said Catherine, noting how lucky she was that Nick didn't decide to question why Warrick was going with her to check on Lindsey.

"Alright then…" said Nick still looking at Greg who was looking at the floor "…I'm headin' up"

Once he was gone, Sam turned to Catherine and Warrick "So, if you go past the family room, there's a small-ish door to your right which goes to the basement…" she said smiling at their slightly shocked looks.

After looking at each other, Cath and Warrick nodded and, smiling at the other two, left in the direction Sam had suggested.

"And then there were two…" said Sam turning to Greg.

"There might actually be three… I have a feeling your brother is lurking somewhere in the shadows keeping an eye on us…" smiled Greg as he followed Sam onto the couches.

"Nicky? Ha…yea, he does that… It's odd really, I mean, he's always been protective of me, even when we were kids and he was the youngest one…" she smiled

"…don't get me wrong, I love your brother, but he can be quite scary…"

"Don't worry! He's never beaten up a guy for me yet…actually that's not true…he has…but he was fine…after a month or two…" registering Greg's face, she laughed "I'm kiddin'! Relax…It was more like two weeks…"

Sighing, Greg lay back on the couch and looked at her. Without warning, she leaned down and kissed him quickly before moving back.

Slightly bewildered, Greg just sat there staring at her until, after a laugh, she leaned in again and kissed him, this time for longer.

* * *

"Gil?" asked Brass as he re-entered their room after taking his turn in the bathroom "you awake?"

At first Grissom thought of just pretending to be asleep … _but that's what I've been doing for the past 5 years… pretending…_ so instead he replied a quick "yes"

"I think you need to do some talking…" said Brass slightly surprised by how much he was getting involved.

Sighing, Gil sat up in bed and looked at his friend. As much as he knew he needed this talk, he had expected to have it with the blond CSI not the fifty-something Captain because, while Jim was his best buddy, he was not one to have good advice.

_But desperate times…_ he thought to himself

"I…" and there he was, already unsure of what to say

"Let's start with what I know and what, thanks to your display tonight, everyone knows" said Brass smiling as Gil groaned "you love her… And you're scared of what you're feeling…"

Shaking his head, Grissom replied "no…it's not _what_ she makes me feel that I'm scared of… its _how much_ she makes me feel…"

Confused, Brass looked at his friend "I don't follow"

"I don't know…it's just…I…"

"…love her…" Jim filled in for him

"…yes… and I want to tell her, I really do…but I can't…I can't stop over thinking things, thinking of all the reasons why I shouldn't…"

"Gil… look, I'm not Catherine, so I'm not going to stay up half the night letting you pour your feelings out to me… partly because I'm too tired, and partly because that would be slightly gay…" he added laughing with Gil at the last comment "I'm just going to tell you this: you need to stop doing the scientist thing, this isn't like one of your experiments that you can just sit back and examine, Gil. You need to _do_ something, you need to tell her something, anything, just do something before some guy like that punk today comes into the picture… She won't wait around for ever…"

Once Brass had stopped speaking, there was silence, both men absolutely stunned that Jim Brass who, they both knew, was a no-emotions, no-crap Jersey cop had just said what he had.

"Thanks…er…Jim…you sure you're Jim right?" asked Grissom looking at his buddy with a weird look.

Laughing, Brass lay down in his bed and said "Yea… but don't expect a repeat of that…" before turning off the light.

* * *

"Cath…" breathed Warrick gasping for air "…we uh…" he nodded towards a couch at the end of the moon-lit room.

Nodding, Catherine allowed him to manoeuvre her towards it. Both intent on ignoring the shining ring on his finger.

* * *

"Well, er, goodnight" said Greg who was now standing outside Sam's door against which she was leaning.

"Yea…" she said turning to open the door before looking back "and, er, Greg thanks… I uh…" not sure what to say, she merely nodded and slipped into her room leaving Greg slightly confused.

* * *

Waking up to the sound of a door banging, Sara sat up in bed and immediately noticed she was alone, not just that, but Catherine's bed hadn't been slept in at all. Still too tired to think about that, she got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.

* * *

_Shoulda seen that coming…_ thought Greg as he stood outside the bathroom door facing Sara who had just come out of her room. Luckily for the geek, he had though of putting some trousers on before leaving his room… Unfortunately for Sara, she had completely forgotten the fact that she was wearing only one of Nick's old A&M t-shirts.

"Good morning…" said Greg trying to keep a straight face as Sara stood frozen in her tracks

"Uh…"

"Yea…" laughed Greg as a door opened behind Sara and Grissom stepped out.

The sound of the door made Sara turn around, something she now regretted. It was one thing to have Greg see her like this, Greg was her friend, like a brother even, but Grissom, he was, he could be… _stop thinking like that, Sidle!_ She mentally scolded herself

"I uh…" without another word, she made a quick movement for her door and entered the room quickly closing the door behind her.

In the corridor, Greg was left laughing as Grissom continued to stare at the spot where Sara had been, his mouth hanging slightly open.

A few seconds alter, the bathroom door opened and Nick stepped out, looked from the still frozen Gil to the laughing Greg and, shaking his head made his way to his room.

"Close your mouth, boss!" said Greg still laughing as he entered the bathroom and left Grissom alone in the corridor.

**TBC**

* * *

I hope you liked that, I know it keeps changing focus but I had to get things going so that I can build on them in future chapters, please review and tell me what you think.

CJS-DEPPendant


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